California Lawmakers Want Textbooks To Highlight President Obama's Civil Rights Significance
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - If the California State Assembly gets its way, students in the 7th to 12th grades will learn about the racial significance of the election of President Obama in their social studies classes.
The Assembly has unanimously passed a bill that asks state education officials to include President Obama's election in the state's standard social studies lessons.
Kids in high school already learn about recent presidents, but the bill's author - Assemblyman Chris Holden of Pasadena - says they should know what the election of President Obama meant for racial equality and civil rights.
The bill is on its way to the Senate.
Even if the bill is approved there, the state Board of Education does not have to follow the Legislature's recommendations when it updates academic standards next year.