Have you heard of Assembly Bill No. 78? If you’re an educator in California I bet you haven’t. Just as with my previous post about the video Bombies, no one I’ve met has ever heard of the video, much less seen it.
I’ve done a lot of searching on the Internet of school districts in California with high percentages of Southeast Asian students (Hmong, Lao, Mien, etc.) and besides Fresno, there has been no attempt by any school district, as far as I know, to meet the intentions of AB 78. And of course since it’s unknown, curriculum decision makers can’t be blamed.
The following is a history of the passage of AB 78 taken from Dr. Kayo-Ly Yang’s website.
“The Assembly Bill AB 78 has the purpose to introduce the "Secret War" (1961-1973) in Laos as a part of the curriculum in social sciences or in history at California Public School. The main part of interest concerns Hmong and other Southeast Asians' critical roles in the "Secret War", part of the Vietnam War, which is a part of the American History. It recommends to teachers from grade 7 to 12 to initiate students to this war. Veterans, experts as well as other existing documents will be solicited to increase the awareness and knowledge of this historical event.
In December 2002, this Bill has been initiated in Fresno by California Assembly Woman Sarah Reyes, District 31 (Fresno) in consultation with a group of young Hmong women. For the support of this Bill, there was a mobilization by Hmong community through radio talk shows, petitions, TV shows, public meetings and lobby. The main supportive organization was Hmong Educational Task Force with its President, Peter Vang, and two very active members, Doua Vue -- who has suggested this idea of Bill to to Assembly member Sarah Reyes--, and Pai Yang, activist. This organization with numerous supporters and volunteers, well-known persons as well as students have strongly organized the support to this Bill: lobby at the State Capitol in Sacramento, dialogue with Veterans, private fundraising for transportation, ... have been engaged.
According to my analysis, Assembly Woman Sarah Reyes has initiated this bill for 3 reasons: the first was political, the second was for enhancing historical awareness of Hmong women of their belonging to American History, and the third reason was to give a place of recognition to the Hmong people at California schools and to raise self-esteem among Hmong children: during 2001-2002, more than 8 Hmong teenagers have been committed suicide in the Fresno area. Something needs to be done. It was certainly this Bill.
When I, Dr. Kao-Ly Yang, main coordinator during spring 2003, lead the petition at various markets to collect signatures, many Hmong spontaneously offered to sign, which was surprising to me. Because of my experience of researcher working within the Hmong community, I know that it is difficult to outreach people; I was supposing that it might be more for political purposes. But this Bill suddenly fulfilled Hmong people's expectations, especially for the low-income families, from American politicians. The reasons they supported the bill were:
*AB78 will decrease gaps between Hmong parents and children
*AB78 will decrease racism and cultural misunderstanding at school
*AB78 will increase self-esteem of Hmong students towards teachers and outsiders, and participation of parents towards schools so that children will feel confident to success
*AB78 will increase better understanding of each other's culture for better respecting each other,
*AB78 will increase the awareness of sharing the same values of peace and of mutual support because of knowing each other's contribution to this American Nation
*AB78 is important for children to remember the past so that they will know better how to build the future by not repeating the same mistakes
The following is the actual text of the bill
Assembly Bill No. 78
CHAPTER 44
An act to add Section 51221.4 to the Education Code, relating to curriculum.
[Approved by Governor July 10, 2003. Filed with Secretary of State July 10, 2003.]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
AB 78, Reyes. Education: curriculum.
Under existing law, the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, is required to include instruction in the social sciences, as prescribed.
This bill would express the encouragement of the Legislature for that instruction to contain instruction on the Vietnam war, including the Secret War in Laos, and the role of Southeast Asians in that war. The bill would additionally express the encouragement of the Legislature that the instruction include a component drawn from personal testimony of Southeast Asians who were involved in the Vietnam and Secret War.
The bill would specify that this instruction shall be carried out in a manner that does not result in any new duties or programs being imposed on school districts.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 51221.4 is added to the Education Code, to read:
51221.4. (a) The Legislature encourages instruction in the area of social sciences, as required pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51220, which may include instruction on the Vietnam war including the Secret War in Laos and the role of Southeast Asians in that war. The Legislature encourages that this instruction include, but not be limited to, a component drawn from personal testimony, especially in the form of oral or video history of Southeast Asians who were involved in the Vietnam war and those men and women who contributed to the war effort on the homefront. The oral histories used as a part of the instruction regarding the role of Southeast Asians in the Vietnam war and the Secret War in Laos shall exemplify the personal sacrifice and courage of the wide range of ordinary citizens who were called upon to participate and provide intelligence for the United States. The oral histories shall contain the views and comments of their subjects regarding the reasons for their participation in the war. These oral histories shall also solicit comments from their subjects regarding the aftermath of the war and the immigration of Southeast Asians to the United States.
(b) This section shall be carried out in a manner that does not result in any new duties or programs being imposed on the school district. In that regard, the Legislature finds and declares that this section does not mandate costs to local agencies or school districts and materials used to comply with this section shall be part of normal curriculum materials purchased by school districts in their normal course of business and purchasing cycles.
The following is taken from the Fresno Unified School District website written in 2003
"Doua Vu, a resource specialist with the State and Federal Programs Title III Office, saw a need for Southeast Asian students to understand their history and the reason they are living in the United States. She determined that low self-esteem stemming from a lack of a sense of belonging may have contributed to a problem with teen suicide in the Southeast Asian Community.
Doua enlisted the support of Assembly Member Sarah Reyes to introduce legislation that would encourage teachers to include curriculum about the valuable part which Southeast Asians played in the Vietnam War in their classroom instruction. Doua worked many hours to see this piece of legislation to fruition and is now heading a committee to write the curriculum for the legislation. Doua is an incredible asset to Fresno Unified School District and a valuable role model to the younger generation of Hmong.
The following is an excerpt from an article written by Adrian Rodriguez about the legislation which appeared in the Fresno Bee last July:
Students soon may learn that thousands of Hmong soldiers fought as U.S. allies during the Vietnam War, under a law that Gov. Davis signed. Davis approved Assembly Bill 78, which encourages social science teachers of 7th through 12th grade students to include in lessons the role of Southeast Asians who fought alongside Special Forces during the Vietnam War.
When it goes into effect next year, California will be the first state to include a history of the Secret War—a CIA-organized mission waged in Laos—in its public schools’ standard curriculum.
'It’s a small change to school lesson plans, but one with great impact for the young Southeast Asians in California', said Assembly Member Sarah Reyes, D-Fresno, who drafted the legislation.
“It will give them a chance to see that their parents are heroes,” she said. 'They will see that the Hmong people are important to our history and to making sure that some of our children came back alive.'
About 100 members of California’s Hmong community attended a ceremony in Sacramento at which Davis signed the bill.
Doua Vu, a resource specialist for the Fresno Unified School District who helped draft the legislation, spoke at the signing. A series of eight suicides within three years by Fresno Hmong teens prompted her to find a way to instill pride in the community. 'As important as it is, let us all remember that the fundamental aspect of this legislation is to improve the lives of Hmong children,' she said at the signing. 'Our courage is still a secret, and Hmong youth are still not aware of their history and don’t know about their heritage.'
The governor followed her words with a message about the impact of the bill. 'This is a bigger bill than people realize,' Davis said. 'We will now honor the Vietnam generation of Southeast Asians, but we’ll also give a sense of dignity and collective memory to the current generation.'
The following is from the Chico News and Review, July 17, 2003
Hmong role in 'secret war' in Laos will be told in state's classrooms
By Cherre Stoneham
In 1990, when Ger Vang first got a job in the Oroville Elementary School District as a classroom instructional aide, he discovered that many teachers did not know why "they"--meaning the Hmong people--came to this country. Teachers assumed they emigrated from Southeast Asia because of economic reasons, to take advantage of opportunities here. That was a slap in the face to Vang, a veteran of a war fought at the request of the U.S. government on behalf of the United States.
"I had to educate them by sharing with them my personal experience during the war and after the war," Vang said.
Now, veterans like Vang will have some help in telling their story, after the passage of Assembly Bill 78, which was signed July 10 by Gov. Gray Davis. Teachers and students alike will learn about the Hmong experience in the Vietnam War.
The bill, authored by Assemblywoman Sarah Reyes, D-Fresno, encourages--but due to budget constraints does not force--middle- and high-school social-science and history teachers to discuss the role Southeast Asians played in the "secret war in Laos" during the Vietnam War. The bill is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, 2004.
Fresno, like Butte County, has a large Hmong community. Reyes decided to sponsor the bill after learning of tragic suicides by Hmong veterans and their children and talking with Hmong women. "Hmong youth are wondering why they they're here," Reyes said. "It has been such a secret for so long, [and] for so long this country has not wanted to talk about the Vietnam War. In many cases, [Hmong soldiers] saved American soldiers from dying. ... They are just as American as you and I.
"I think that this will help young Hmong youths have a better perspective on who they are," she said.
During the Vietnam War the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency recruited Hmong people as a fighting force to help hold back the North Vietnamese Communist forces. In return, the CIA made a verbal commitment to the Hmong that, if the Communists won, the United States would "find a new place" for them. Instead, after the war the Hmong were cast aside and booted out of their homeland of Laos, perceived by their country as traitors for fighting alongside the Americans in the Vietnam War.
They went from being subsistence farmers--a 5,000-year-old culture--to soldiers to refugees to immigrants with nothing. More than 30,000 Hmong soldiers died fighting on behalf of the United States, and thousands more civilians were killed by Communists. Those left behind after the United States retreated either hid or were targeted by Communists for their ties to the U.S. government.
In recent years, government officials have acknowledged the broken promises and made some thin apologies. But many Hmong continue to struggle, suffering from language barriers, a lack of job skills and depression.
Vang, who coordinates Community Partnership, a social-services organization, said, "I think it is time to educate the general public about our government's involvement in Laos. The involvement was kept secret, and not very many Americans knew what was actually going on in Laos during the '60s and '70s. What the general public knew about it was the Vietnam War."
Not only do elementary-school teachers need to brush up on their American history, but some college professors do, as well. Vang remembers back in 1991 when he was taking a world history class at Butte College and the instructor pulled down a world map showing the location of the Vietnam War. There was a big red arrow pointing to South Vietnam, but nothing into Laos. "The instructor was talking about the Vietnam War, and I questioned him about the U.S. secret war in Laos. He said that he heard about it and did not know much about it," Vang said. "When I did my project for my master's degree here at Chico State, my professor, who served as the committee chair for my project, did not know much about the secret war in Laos. He heard his students talking about it outside the classroom and sometimes mentioned it during class discussions."
In terms of the stereotypes American students might have about the Hmong culture, Vang does not foresee that will be a barrier. "It is a matter of the lack of education." Individuals from other cultures have not had the opportunity to explore and learn about Hmong culture, he said. "Once it is taught and shared, people will have a better understanding and will appreciate it more."
Now that Dr. Crystal and I have formed SEAIF Consulting Group I hope we are able to learn more about what’s already being done to implement the intentions of AB 78 and provide our own staff development opportunities to encourage school districts to incorporate instruction on the Secret War and the role of Southeast Asians in that war. Our goal for SEAIF is to serve as a catalyst for school districts to take action in being more pro-active in developing curriculum and activities that encourage cross-cultural awareness. Our focus is of course Southeast Asia, and our approach would be to embrace the inclusiveness of the language used in AB 78, "the role of Southeast Asians..." Although the impetus for AB 78 came out of issues concerning the Hmong in Fresno, as the legislature acknowledged, it was not just the Hmong, but the Mien, Lao, Khamu and other Southeast Asians who because of their role in the Secret War, came to the US as refugees. We would address the role of all Southeast Asians and as needed can focus on specific ethnic groups as requested by school districts.
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