1. What is Ethnic Studies? Is it controversial?

 

Ethnic Studies is an interdisciplinary subject, which means that it involves many fields including history, literature, economics and political science. Ethnic Studies is usually taught as a stand-alone high school course. It has been part of the course offerings at US schools for many years. Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) has offered Ethnic Studies as a high school elective for decades.

 

According to the California State Legislature, Ethnic Studies should be implemented "with the objective of preparing students to be global citizens with an appreciation for the contributions of multiple cultures." It is sometimes called “inclusive” Ethnic Studies.

 

Some groups are encouraging schools to teach a different type of Ethnic Studies - one that focuses primarily on certain marginalized groups and often advances political ideologies. This form of ethnic studies is referred to as "liberated" Ethnic Studies.

 

For an excellent primer on the differences between "liberated" ethnic studies and “inclusive” ethnic studies and why it matters, see this commentary written by former CA State Superintendent of Public Instruction Bill Honig. 

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2. Are CA schools required to make Ethnic Studies a high school graduation requirement?

 

A law (AB 101) approved by the CA legislature and Governor Newsom in 2021 states that all of CA's public high schools are to offer an Ethnic Studies course, and requires all students starting with those in the graduating class of 2030 to complete this high school course to graduate. 

 

Many school districts read AB 101 as a requirement and have already begun developing Ethnic Studies courses. Some districts have even mandated their own Ethnic Studies graduation requirement that applies to seniors in earlier graduating classes. Other school districts read AB 101 as requiring additional legislation to fully fund it before it becomes a graduation requirement. As of June 1, 2024, such funding legislation has not been enacted. 

 

 

The overall cost to California for Ethnic Studies is expected to be significant. A November 2023 paper published by Stanford and UC Irvine faculty estimates that AB 101 will require 2,000 new Ethnic Studies teachers statewide for the 420 school districts with high schools. Again, as of June 1, 2024, funding expressly for AB 101 has not been allocated by the California Legislature.

 

 

3. I’ve read that an “ethnic studies” lens can be applied to non-Ethnic Studies classes. What does this mean?

 

An Ethnic Studies "lens" refers to including race and ethnicity in all course work including non-Ethnic Studies courses.  In California and elsewhere, an Ethnic Studies ”lens” has been applied in all grades to a variety of classes including Math, Art, English, and even Physical Education.  

 

PAUSD intends to implement Ethnic Studies beginning in middle school. PAUSD has not yet shared specifics with the community but has started these discussions with middle school staff. (See Agenda Item 7B and staff presentation at the school board’s September 12, 2023 meeting.)

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4. Are there California laws that ban discrimination against religions and nationalities in classrooms?

 

Yes. State of California's "Educational Rights” June 2023 guidance letter and the CA Department of Justice's January 2024 Legal Alert remind school districts that California law prohibits them from adopting textbooks or other materials, or providing or sponsoring instruction or activities, that “promote discriminatory bias against or that reflect adversely on persons on the basis of [among other categories] ethnicity, nationality [and] religion."  The State of California also advised school districts that the law does not support indoctrinating students and prohibits their using instructional materials “that contain any ‘sectarian or denominational doctrine’ or other propaganda.”

 

The June 2023 letter mentions the “guardrails” in AB 101 (the law stating that Ethnic Studies is a high school graduation requirement, as described above). These guardrails were included to provide an extra layer of legal protection against discriminatory content in Ethnic Studies courses, like that which was embedded in the first draft of the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum in 2019 (see “What is the CA Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum,” below).   

 

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5. What is the CA Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC)?

 

The CA Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) is an Ethnic Studies guide (not a full curriculum or a requirement) that the CA State Board of Education approved in 2021. It includes K-12 Ethnic Studies course pedagogy (approach) and offers lessons centered on different races and ethnicities, along with religions such as Muslims, Sikhs, and Jews. All of these lessons are offered as options for districts and teachers.

 

The first ESMC draft (2019) was controversial due to its resistance theory-informed content and its pronounced anti-Jewish bias. That draft was rejected after the CA Jewish Legislative Caucus objected and 19,000 people spoke out against it. 

 

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6. Who decides what content will be taught?

 

Generally, school boards select the courses and curriculum that will be taught in their districts after obtaining input from teachers and the public. 

 

Individual teachers, staying true to the school board’s direction for a course, choose how to teach the curriculum. This includes supplementing courses with their own lessons and resources. So, what is taught for the same course may vary by teacher.

 

Teachers do not have the freedom to teach anything they want; they are constrained by the school board’s approved standards, curriculum, federal and state law, and school district policies.  For example:

 

• CA Education Code Sections 51014, 51220.3, and 51224 state that the school board is responsible for setting an appropriate, planned content that students study.

 

• CA Education Code Section 51500 does not permit school districts and teachers to promote a discriminatory bias for or against a religion, nationality or other protected group. 

 

• PAUSD Board Policy 6011 requires the board to adopt academic standards for student achievement, “developed through a process that involves staff, students, parents/guardians and community members.”

 

• PAUSD Board Policy 6141 requires the Board to “adopt a written district curriculum … for each subject area …aligned with [those] academic content standards [via a process that] provide[s] opportunities for input from students, parents/guardians, representatives of local businesses and postsecondary institutions, and other community members.…When presenting a recommended curriculum for adoption, the Superintendent or designee shall provide research, data, or other evidence demonstrating the proven effectiveness of the proposed curriculum. He/she also shall present information about the resources that would be necessary to successfully implement the curriculum.”

 

• PAUSD Board Policy 6144 encourages age-appropriate classroom discussions on controversial issues provided that they teach students critical thinking skills (i.e.to  “discriminate between fact and fiction”); respect varying viewpoints; and do not reflect religions, nationalities and other protected groups adversely.  Teachers are expected to provide students with  “adequate and appropriate factual information,” be non-partisan, and “ensure that all sides of a controversial issue are impartially presented,” They also must consult with the Superintendent “as necessary to determine the appropriateness of the subject matter, guest speakers, and/or related instructional materials or resources.”  

 

Often, school districts will retain outside help to train teachers and develop new courses.

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7. What does “liberated” Ethnic Studies emphasize and who advocates for it?

 

There are approximately 20 private and university-sponsored Ethnic Studies consulting firms in California. Almost all of them advance “liberated” Ethnic Studies.  Many are members of the national Coalition for Liberated Ethnic Studies (CLES). CLES members promote Ethnic Studies courses that include Critical Race Theory and Arab and Palestine Studies.

 

In January 2024, California’s legislators issued a stark warning about “liberated” Ethnic Studies consultants and their approach: “a group promoting so-called ‘Liberated Ethnic Studies’ has been shopping its services to often-unsuspecting school districts [making] it a top priority to promote  bigoted, inaccurate, discriminatory, and deeply offensive” content.  See also Governor Newsom Administration’s similar warning letter to schools about Ethnic Studies vendors which promote “bias, bigotry or discrimination.”

 

Also in January 2024, PAUSD staff hired, without Board approval, the University of California Berkeley History-Social Science Project (HSSP) as its Ethnic Studies consultant.  HSSP advances “liberated” Ethnic Studies.  HSSP’s Ethnic Studies key concepts and lessons focus on oppression by “White Eurocentric//Western supremacy,” settler colonization, and the police, as well as on decolonization described as a "political act...to unlearn... European colonization (religion, construction of knowledge, family structures, social structure).”

 

HSSP’s consortium – the University of California High School Ethnic Studies Initiative – hosts a teacher resources website.  Among the resource recommendations that HSSP tags “curriculum essentials” are CLES member private consultant Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Coalition’s (LESMC) course materials.  LESMC sees anti-capitalism, anti-imperialism, and anti-Zionism as essential topics to teach in Ethnic Studies courses.  LESMC’s co-founders were members of the State of California's ESMC Advisory Committee which produced the controversial first draft the State rejected.

 

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8. Where is PAUSD in its Ethnic Studies rollout?

 

In October 2023, the PAUSD school board voted to make Ethnic Studies a high school graduation requirement for the graduating class of 2030. However, based on PAUSD district meetings, it appears that the district plans to require that all 9th graders take Ethnic Studies starting Fall 2025 (graduating class of 2029).

 

In January 2024, PAUSD retained UCB HSSP, a liberated Ethnic Studies consultant (described above), to provide 18 hours of training to the PAUSD teachers appointed to its Ethnic Studies committee. The services PAUSD agreed to have HSSP provide were to help it (i) identify "foundational concepts and pedagogies that connect the field of Ethnic Studies to the Palo Alto community,” (ii) develop a structure for 1 semester course "that honors the essential understanding of the field," and (iii) develop a “community voice” strategy.

 

This committee’s Ethnic Studies course outline was shared at the March 26, 2024 school board meeting:

• Unit 0 Why Ethnic Studies?

• Unit 1 Identity

• Unit 2 Power, Privilege, & Systems of Oppression

• Unit 3 Resilience and Resistance

• Unit 4 Action and Civic Engagement

 

At that meeting, the committee also set out the ethnic groups that would be covered and its Ethnic Studies definition: “At its core, the field of ethnic studies is the interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity, with an emphasis on the experiences of people of color in the United States. It emerged to both address content considered missing from traditional curriculum and to encourage critical engagement with the four foundational disciplines first established in California higher education: African American, Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x, Native American, and Asian American and Pacific Islander studies.” 

 

At the May 21, 2024 school board meeting, local community group Palo Alto Parent Alliance (PA²), concerned about “liberated” Ethnic Studies, presented Superintendent Austin and the school board with its letter seeking a “pause” in the roll-out of this revamped Ethnic Studies course until PAUSD includes the community in setting this course’s standards as required by PAUSD Board Policy 6011.  As of June 1, 2024, PA²’s letter has been signed by over 1,400 people, two-thirds of whom are Palo Alto community members. 

 

Immediately upon receiving PA²’s letter, PAUSD posted an FAQ on this new Ethnic Studies course.  The FAQ stated that this course, while politically-focused (which is core to liberated Ethnic Studies), will not use a “liberated” Ethnic Studies frame.  It added that teachers may use curriculum the School Board has not approved and instructional materials it has not vetted; PAUSD Board Policies 6141 and 6161.1 require the Board to approve curriculum and instructional materials.

 

PA² issued a detailed response to PAUSD’s FAQ. This response alerted Superintendent Austin and the School Board members to numerous errors in the FAQ, and reiterated that the district’s rollout plan diverges from the PAUSD board-mandated detailed standards-setting and curriculum-approval process. 

 

Despite that, PAUSD is proceeding as planned and will pilot the new 9th grade Ethnic Studies course Fall 2024 and require all 9th graders to take the revamped course starting Fall 2025.  It is anticipated that the district will integrate Ethnic Studies into middle school content this coming school year as well.