California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond recently hosted a webinar on ethnic studies, a new course requirement for school districts serving students in grades 9-12 who will graduate high school in 2029-2030.
The webinar’s purpose was to inform attendees about the reasons for a course in ethnic studies, provide background information, and suggest how to move forward with professional and curricular development.
Assembly Bill 101, which requires the one-semester course, was signed into law in October 2021 by Gov. Gavin Newsom. California is the first state to require this course.
“America is shaped by our shared history, much of it painful and etched with woeful injustice,” wrote Newsom in approving the AB 101 legislation. “Students deserve to see themselves in their studies, and they must understand our nation’s full history if we expect them to one day build a more just society.”
San Diego’s Shirley Weber, current California Secretary of State and founder in 1972 of the Africana Studies Department at San Diego State University, said ethnic studies gives white students “a better perspective of the importance of Black history” and helps them become “a different kind of professional.”
“When you teach basic white history, you’re teaching them to love their country,” said Weber on the webinar. “When you don’t have that in your own history, you wonder if you made a contribution to the world or made a difference.”
She said the class can create “a different sense of ownership and pride” and “will empower our students immensely. They learn a greater sense of purpose in their lives.”
Jose Medina, a state Assemblymember from 2012 to 2022 who authored AB 101, said on the webinar that ethnic studies has “the power to transform students’ lives.”
“Students are hungry to know their full history,” and those who see themselves “reflected in the curriculum do much better,” he said.
Other leaders who spoke on the Webinar were:
- Dolores Huerta, president of Dolores Huerta Foundation and co-founder of United Farm Workers Association
- Karen Korematsu, executive director of the Fred T. Korematsu Institute
- Manufou Liaiga-Anoa’I, executive director of the Pacific Islander Community Partnership
Rejected First Draft
In 2016, Newsom authorized development of an ethnic studies model curriculum. But the first effort was met with fierce objections and was rejected by the State Board of Education due to concerns related to bias, bigotry and discrimination. Most often cited was its inclusion of blatant antisemitic and anti-Zionist views.
“A model curriculum should be accurate, free of bias, appropriate for all learners in our diverse state, and align with Governor Newsom’s vision of a California for all,” wrote Board President Linda Darling-Hammond in an Aug. 12, 2019 letter. “The current draft model curriculum falls short and needs to be substantially redesigned.”
After several revisions, a final model curriculum was adopted by the Board of Education in March 2021.
Jennifer Bentley of the Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division of the California Department of Education, stressed during the webinar that old drafts of the model curriculum should not be used.
“There is one Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum that is approved by the State Board of Education,” according to curriculum division. “The (board) will continue to specify this in all of our trainings, workshops, and communications around ethnic studies implementation.”
An Aug. 23, 2023 letter written by Brooks Allen, education advisor to the governor and executive director of the Board of Education, advised school districts that some vendors “have begun promoting curriculum for ethnic studies” that “may not meet the requirements of AB 101.”
The letter warned districts to “closely scrutinize” their course materials to be sure they conform with the established criteria.
Despite objections from a number of Jewish organizations that remain concerned about approved ethnic studies content, the local Anti-Defamation League is not one of them.
Fabienne Perlov, Regional Director of the San Diego ADL, said in an email, “[T]eaching ethnic studies is an important part of a student’s learning experience and promotes equity and inclusiveness by deepening their understanding of American history.”
But she emphasized that districts’ courses must be “free of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.”
“Adopting curricula drawn from the final state-approved (model curriculum)…
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