San Dieguito Union High School District is one of many hundreds of high schools across California preparing to meet the ethnic studies graduation requirement for the class of 2030.
This requirement, mandated under the state’s Assembly Bill 101, has been steeped in controversy since its beginnings, when a model curriculum was developed that included antisemitic and anti-Israel viewpoints.
When strong objections arose, a revised ethnic studies model curriculum (ESMC) was created, with warnings from the state’s governor that ethnic studies courses “must not reflect or promote, directly or indirectly, any bias, bigotry or discrimination against any person or group of persons.”
An August 23, 2023 letter written by Brooks Allen, education advisor to the governor and executive director of the State Board of Education, warned districts to closely scrutinize their course material to be sure it conforms with established criteria.
Although these guardrails were applauded by many who objected to the original version, there are no mechanisms at the state level to ensure that districts’ ethnic studies coursework complies with the edict – nor are there consequences for violations.
The original model curriculum, now referred to as the “liberated” ethnic studies model curriculum, is opposed by the state and has been discredited. But it is still being promoted by many groups and is said to be replete with controversial content that presents colonialism, political systems of oppression and antisemitic and anti-Israel viewpoints.
With resources available, the San Diego County Office of Education advises districts to use the state-approved ESMC, which San Dieguito’s Bryan Marcus says the district intends to do.
Marcus, SDUHSD’s associate superintendent of Educational Services, shared a timeline for the development of the district’s ESMC which shows that committee work and the selection of a course model began last fall.
This spring, the district will initiate professional development opportunities for teachers and will begin this fall to develop a one-semester pilot course to be offered in the 2025-2026 school year.
San Dieguito will offer a finalized ethnic studies course in the fall of 2026, as mandated by law, for high school graduation in 2030. To date, no course model or materials have been developed.
According to the district, the California State University and the University of California have not made ethnic studies a requirement for ission, as yet. But should that happen, SDUHSD would submit its coursework to the university systems to ensure it fulfills the subject requirements for ittance.
Public review
Districts are not required to use the state-approved ESMC, however. Developing their own courses is another option, although specific requirements and potential hazards exist.
For a locally developed ethnic studies course, “The proposed course shall first be presented at a public meeting of the governing board of the school district … and shall not be approved until a subsequent public meeting of the governing board or governing body at which the public has had the opportunity to express its views on the proposed course,” according to AB-101.
In other words, the public must be allowed the opportunity to review the proposed course and offer comments to the board. Then a second board meeting must be held to either approve or deny the proposal.
If the state-approved ESMC is used, no public review is required, although a public review should be allowed for the sake of transparency.
The Santa Ana Unified School District is an example of the risks involved when a district designs its own coursework.
Last September, the Santa Ana district was sued by a coalition of organizations citing convincing evidence that the district failed to provide proper public notice before approving multiple ethnic studies courses, which the groups say contained anti-Jewish bias.
The lawsuit also charges the district with failing to protect the public – including of the Jewish community, both adults and students – from intimidation and harassment at board meetings.
A press release – issued by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee – alleges that last spring the Santa Ana Unified School District “knowingly circumvented the law and was misleading in its effort to curricula with dangerously anti-Jewish teachings that violate state rules and ethical standards, all without community awareness.”
The lack of transparency was intentional, the lawsuit claims, “as those developing the curriculum questioned how to ‘address the Jewish question’ and suggested collaborating with outside organizations with a history of controversial viewpoints, instead of with the Jewish community.
“When of the community discovered the school board’s actions and appeared at a meeting to publicly comment following the controversial curriculum’s covert approval, they were harassed with antisemitic rhetoric,” according to the allegations.
Biased presentations
Ethnic studies began at UC Berkeley in the 1960s with the Third World Liberation Front and was a college-level course that studied the historical, social, cultural, economic and political perspectives of four primary groups of people: African-, Asian-, Latinx- and Native-Americans.
Re-imagining this course of study for high schools may have been a good idea but implementation has been challenging.
Even though the state-approved ESMC focuses on the four sub-groups, some are including other groups of cultures, religions and ethnicities, which veers away from the law’s focus.
This leaves the stage open for biased presentations as well as the obvious danger of neglecting other groups of under-represented people who also face discrimination and lack of education about their contributions and struggles in our society.
“We’re learning a lot from other districts that have had some setbacks, things we would want to avoid,” San Dieguito’s Marcus said, noting that the district plans use “the ethnic studies framework to do what it’s asking us to do which is looking at these four sub-groups.”
Marcus said the intent of ethnic studies is to make students “more appreciative of the diversity that we have, not only in our district but the diversity they will work with later on.”
In addition to potential violations of the guardrails, adequate funding is another obstacle.
“Because the bill would add new duties to local educational agencies, it would constitute a state-mandated local program,” according to a summary of the text of AB-101. “The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state.”
The state to date has provided a fraction of the amount the Senate Appropriations Committee estimated the bill would cost taxpayers: $276 million annually.
This wouldn’t be the first time, however, that districts have had to contend with an unfunded mandate.
Given the ability to inject any kind of political ideology into ethnic studies lessons without repercussions, coupled with funding challenges, ethnic studies is a burdensome requirement that is surely causing headaches for already over-worked educators.
Opinion columnist and education writer Marsha Sutton can be reached at [email protected].
