SECTIONS 20090-20091 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 20090-20091

20090. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) Museums do important work that helps the state meet its
obligations to residents in the field of education. Museums
contribute to formal and informal learning at every stage of life,
from the education of children in preschool to the continuing
education of adults.
(b) Museums are a significant resource for in-service training of
California teachers. A great potential for a relationship between
museums and educational facilities exists.
(c) Museums are an important means of making art, science,
history, and culture available to California residents.
(d) Museums provide an economic boost to their communities by
attracting tourists and local visitors, all of whom create a demand
for services.
(e) Museums often help define the public identity of a community,
and serve as a foundation of its cultural identity. A museum has the
legacy of its community as the heart of its mission.

20091. To the extent that funding is available for such purposes,
the endowment shall establish a program to assist and enhance the
services of California's museums and of other groups and institutions
that undertake cultural projects that are deeply rooted in and
reflective of previously underserved communities. This program shall
give priority to:
(a) Enhancing opportunities for superior museum and cultural
program services.
(b) Encouraging museums and cultural programs to provide services
to school pupils, including any of the following:
(1) Curriculum development.
(2) Schoolsite presentations or workshops.
(3) Teacher training.
(4) Reduced price or free admission of pupils to museums.
(c) Collaborative projects and technical assistance to coordinate
the work of eligible museums and cultural programs and to enhance the
ability of museums and cultural programs to serve the public.
Priority shall be given to any project that does any of the
following:
(1) Assists an eligible museum or cultural program in serving an
historically underserved population.
(2) Aids a museum or cultural program in diversifying or expanding
its audience.
(3) Aids a museum or cultural program in raising its professional
standards in order to better serve the public.
(d) Projects that increase accessibility to museums' and cultural
programs' collections and services.