California's Ethnic Studies Course Mandate

I am pleased to bring you The Stemler Education Newsletter, a twice-monthly(-ish) newsletter discussing the issues affecting our students and community! Throughout our school board campaign, we got wonderful feedback on our content and tone, and I am excited to bring you our research in this format!

For our first topic, we discuss California’s ethnic studies course mandate—a discussion topic we expect will be ongoing.

I. The ethnic studies course mandate

Under Education Code section 51225.3(a)(1)(G)(i), all public and charter schools must offer a one-semester ethnic studies course for pupils in grades 9-12 starting with the 2025-2026 academic year. A one-semester ethnic studies course will be a graduation requirement for the 2029-2030 graduating high school class, and schools may require a full-year course at their discretion. (Ibid.) Newport-Mesa will pilot its own ethnic studies course this semester.

II. What is ethnic studies, exactly?

The Legislature did not define ethnic studies in the statute other than to say that the ethnic studies course must use “ethnic studies content.” (Educ. Code, § 51225.3(a)(1)(G)(iii).) Additionally, the course may not “reflect or promote, directly or indirectly, any bias, bigotry, or discrimination” or teach or promote religious doctrine. (Educ. Code, § 51225.3(a)(1)(G)(v)(II-III).)

However, the California Department of Education has created a model ethnic studies curriculum that sheds some light on what constitutes “ethnic studies content.” (SeeEduc. Code, § 51226.7.)

In California, the ethnic studies field was developed at the university level in response to Third World Liberation Front-led student protests at San Francisco State College and others in the late 1960s. (Cal. Dept. Educ., Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (2022), pp. 10-12.) It has four core fields: “African American Studies, Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies, Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x Studies, and Native American Studies.” (Id., at pp. 44-45.)

Critical race theory, which posits “that racism is embedded within systems and institutions that replicate racial inequality—codified in law, embedded in structures, and woven into public policy,” is a key theoretical framework. (Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, supra, at p. 45, fn. 12.)

According to the Department of Education:

“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. People or person of color is a term used primarily in the United States and is meant to be inclusive among non-white groups, emphasizing common experiences of racism.

. . .

The field critically grapples with the various power structures and forms of oppression that continue to have social, emotional, cultural, economic, and political impacts. It also deals with the often-overlooked contributions to many areas of government, politics, the arts, medicine, economics, and others, made by people of color and provides examples of how collective social action can lead to a more equitable and just society in positive ways.”

(Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, supra, at pp. 9-10.)

III. Ethnic studies in Newport-Mesa

To comply with this mandate, school districts can adopt an existing ethnic studies course or create their own. (Educ. Code, § 51225.3(a)(1)(G)(ii)(I)-(IV).) Newport-Mesa opted to create its own ethnic studies course and provided an update at the November 19, 2024 school board meeting.

According to district staff, the district has been taking input from members of the community as they have developed the curriculum internally. The course will have 8-10 lessons for each of the four groups described in the model curriculum and be taught by history-social sciences teachers. The district did not otherwise disclose the content of its course.

As it pilots its ethnic studies course in the Spring 2025 semester, the district plans to solicit feedback from teachers, students, and community members prior to launching the course for the 2025-2026 school year.

IV. Conclusion

Teaching an ethnic studies curriculum that embraces “ethnic studies content” without promoting bias, bigotry, and discrimination (see Educ. Code, § 51225.3(a)(1)(G)(v)(II-III) will require careful balancing. Indeed, the Department of Education was forced to revise its model curriculum because an earlier version was deemed biased. (See Educ. Code, § 51225.3(a)(1)(G)(vi).) Already, one school district is being sued for adopting an ethnic studies curriculum allegedly biased against Jewish people.

Ethnic studies emphasizes “common experiences of racism” and oppression among non-white groups and embraces critical race theory, which holds that racism infects all aspects of society. (Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, supra, at pp. 9-10 & 45.) These concepts are inherently divisive, and teaching them at the high school level will require due care and consideration of our community’s values.