An act to amend Sections 253 and 51204.5 Section 60040 of the Education Code, relating to educational equity. pupil instruction.
Summary
AB 908 would expand California’s education compliance framework by requiring the State Department of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction to include two existing instructional mandates in their annual monitoring and review processes. First, school districts’ adoption of instructional materials would have to be monitored for compliance with the requirement that materials accurately portray the cultural and racial diversity of California and the United States. Second, the required social sciences curriculum—covering the early history of California and the contributions of diverse groups—would be explicitly added to the annual compliance review of school districts.
The bill also updates the Education Code to restate and broaden the diversity-related content that instructional materials and social sciences instruction must cover. It emphasizes the contributions of people of all genders and a wide range of racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, socioeconomic, disability, and LGBTQ+ communities, and it adds language about the role of entrepreneurs and labor in the development of California and the nation. The measure is framed as an educational equity and pupil instruction bill rather than a new substantive curriculum mandate, because it largely ties existing requirements to oversight and compliance review.
Impact
AB 908 would amend Education Code Sections 253, 51204.5, and 60040 to make diversity-based instructional materials requirements and social sciences instruction subject to state compliance monitoring. In practice, this would give the Department of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction a clearer enforcement role in reviewing whether districts are adopting compliant instructional materials and teaching the required social sciences content. The bill could affect school districts’ textbook adoption processes, compliance documentation, and review procedures, while also reinforcing existing statutory expectations around inclusive curriculum content.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have generally favorable support in the Legislature, as reflected by multiple committee and floor votes with more yeas than nays and passage out of the Assembly by a wide margin. The measure advanced through several stages, including committee approval and a strong Assembly third-reading vote, suggesting broad support for the underlying goal of strengthening oversight of inclusive instructional content. However, its later placement on suspense file and eventual ordering to the inactive file indicate that, despite support, it faced procedural or fiscal hurdles late in the process.
Contention
The main points of contention appear to be less about the bill’s policy direction and more about implementation and oversight. Because the bill requires additional compliance monitoring by state education officials, concerns likely centered on administrative burden, staffing, and whether sufficient funds were available to carry out the new review duties; the text itself conditions implementation on appropriations. Any opposition would likely have focused on state oversight of local instructional material decisions and curriculum compliance, while supporters would have emphasized educational equity, accurate representation, and stronger enforcement of existing law.
An act to amend Sections 44671 and 49600 of, and to add Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 52210) to Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of, the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.
Revised for 1st substitute: Providing instruction on Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Latino American, and Black American history in public schools.
Education: curriculum; requirement for schools to provide instruction on African-American history; provide for, and create the commission to update African-American history in K to 12 instruction. Amends 1976 PA 451 (MCL 380.1 - 380.1852) by adding sec. 1164.