SACRAMENTO—A bill requiring the California Department of Education (CDE) to post the educational outcome data of Native American students in our schools was approved by the legislature today and will head to the governor. The measure, AB 1581, was introduced by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino).
Ramos stated, “Current federal guidelines dealing with the ethnic classification of students results in misclassification of student identity and their learning outcomes which makes it difficult for our schools to effectively allocate resources where they are needed or to tailor educational programs to specific cultural and academic needs.”
Currently, almost 90% of California Native American or Alaska Native students are undercounted compared to an estimated 70% nationwide according to a 2023 report by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and the Indigenous Education State Leaders Network (IESLN) titled, Indigenous Students Count: A Landscape Analysis of American Indian and Alaska Native Student Data in U.S. K–12 Public Schools. Current data collection inadvertently leads to many students being misclassified or overlooked, particularly when identified as Hispanic/Latino, as responses are often not disaggregated if the student is both Latino and Native American. Ramos said the changes in data collection would create a better opportunity to address long-standing disparities in California’s education system.
According to Ramos, by requiring this report, we can utilize important metrics such as graduation rates, suspension rates, and an inclusive count of Native students which could help inform policy decisions.
AB 1581 would require CDE to post, on its website, specified statewide aggregate educational outcome data for the prior school year for pupils who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native only, and pupils who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native in addition to another race or ethnicity.
AB 1581 is sponsored by the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians and also supported by the California Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, California Charter School Association and California Tribal Business Alliance.
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Assemblymember James C. Ramos proudly represents the 45th Assembly district that includes the Cities of Fontana, Highland, Mentone, Redlands, Rialto and San Bernardino. He is the first and only California Native American serving in the state’s legislature. Ramos chairs the Assembly Budget Subcommittee #6 on Public Safety and the Assembly Select Committee on Native American Affairs.
