This bill establishes the African American Studies Advisory Council to serve as a resource to educators, school administrative units and the public by offering educational online and on-site programming related to the State's African American history. The advisory council is required to work with the Department of Education to develop a process to support and enable a school administrative unit to conduct an internal audit of that school administrative unit's curriculum to ensure an equitable representation of African American voices and an accurate historical account of African American history and culture. Audits must occur at least once every 2 years. The advisory council is established within the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Tribal Populations, which is required to provide staffing and assistance to the advisory council. The bill directs the department to establish and fund teacher education programs and teacher professional development programs, including a summer teacher institute, in African American studies and Maine African American studies. The bill also requires the department to provide ongoing funding for the inclusion of African American studies in teacher preparation programs and school administrative districts, including funding that school administrative districts can apply for to fund African American studies resources, such as coordinators.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 2001, HP 1279: 5.25007