AUGUSTA – Anyone who missed learning about Maine’s Franco history during their time in public school would have gotten caught up if they attended a public hearing Monday in the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.

Committee members heard testimony on a pair of bills that would formally add Franco studies to the Maine Learning Results, and mandate their inclusion as a requirement for high school graduates.

One bill, sponsored by Rep. Brian Bolduc, D-Auburn, calls for adding Franco history, while a second, sponsored by Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, specifies Acadian history be taught.

“What a history lesson we’ve heard today,” said Randy Bolduc of Auburn, who is not related to Brian Bolduc. “Just one problem; you won’t hear it in Maine’s public schools.”

Randy Bolduc, a fourth generation Franco-American, said he learned about his heritage from his parents and grandparents, but it wasn’t part of his formal education until college.

His daughter, Sara Bolduc, said despite growing up in the Lewiston-Auburn area, it wasn’t until she was a sophomore in college that she first heard the term “Franco-American.”

“I believe that by introducing French studies into the history courses we can close a gap between generations and create an awareness of a culture that is a huge part of Maine,” she said, adding that she was the first student to graduate from the French studies of North America program at the University of Southern Maine Lewiston-Auburn College.

Many others testified in support of the bills, including Rita Dube, executive director of Lewiston’s Franco-American Heritage Center, Severin Beliveau, a well-known lawyer with Rumford roots, Barry Rodrigue, a professor at the University of Southern Maine Lewiston-Auburn College, several other professors and concerned community members. Lewiston Mayor Larry Gilbert submitted a letter of support.

Nearly every supporter outlined their personal Franco heritage before highlighting their favorite Maine-Franco historical connection, ranging from French explorer Samuel de Champlain’s naming of Mount Desert Island to revered Maine poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s first book, titled “Outre Mer.”

The state requires Maine History be taught, but does not specifically direct teachers to include Franco studies, as it does for Native American studies.

Representatives of the Maine Principals’ Association, the Maine School Board Association and the Maine School Superintendent Association testified against the measures, citing cost concerns.

“We applaud the intent, but it’s not the time to add curriculum in these financial times,” said Dick Durost, executive director of the MPA. “Any teacher would appreciate having material ready and available to them.”

Durost said he encouraged those supportive of the cause to contact their local school board members about the curriculum being taught.

The bills also represent a formal rebuke of the discrimination that Francos endured from 1919 to 1969, when schools were subject to an “English only” law, according to proponents.

Rhea Cote Robbins, an adjunct professor at the University of Maine at Orono, said passing Bolduc’s bill would trigger a domino effect.

“With this legislation, the mode of addressing the French heritage will change,” she said. “The unspoken, hushed, long-held, unconscious and subconscious beliefs of prejudice against the French will no longer hold sway. The new cool will be to know who you are.”

The bills are scheduled for a work session Thursday.