Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Oct. 15 requiring students in public schools in California to take an ethnic studies class in order to graduate. The implementation of this curriculum requirement will begin in the 2025 school year, and will first apply to the 2030 graduating class. The state has not mandated a strict course schedule for ethnic studies, but rather, the California State Board of Education created a teaching guide to assist schools in creating their very own curriculum. 

Ethnic studies is the in-depth study of race, ethnicity, and culture that focuses on the history and experiences of people of color in the U.S. and around the world. This academic field first emerged in the 1960s, when numerous social reforms fighting for the equality of racial and ethnic minorities came about. Ethnic studies continues to be a significant subject to learn about because it encourages people’s understanding of other cultures and ethnicities. 

According to Local12, Newsom stated, “Ethnic studies courses enable students to learn their own stories– and those of their classmates.” 

“In a state with the most diverse student body of anywhere in the nation, our students must see themselves reflected in their school, their curriculum, and the knowledge they learn,” Luis Alejo, a member of the California State Assembly, told The LA Times.

The rise in hate crimes during 2020-2021 only accelerated the creation and passing of the bill. The Black Lives Matter movement, as well as the Stop Asian Hate movement made it evident that ethnic education needs to be introduced from a young age in order to avoid racist behaviors. 

California Board of Education President Lina Darling-Hammnd said in an article, “We are reminded daily that racism is not only a legacy of the past but a clear and present danger. We must understand this history if we are [to finally] end it.” 

“What we…have to do is take steps to start preventing these horrific acts against people of color. It is not enough to say, I am not a racist. What we have to do in today’s world is we have to be anti-racist…There is no place that has the greatest responsibility than our educational system,” claimed Dolores Huerta, a civil rights icon in an The LA Times article.

However, this bill did not come without its challenges. This bill took three years to craft, with thousands of comments from different groups who objected, since their ethnic group was either omitted or underrepresented. The most prominent of these protests were from the Jewish and pro-Arab groups. 

In The LA Times, it was stated that Jews believed that the plan did not properly retell the stories of the Jews in the Middle East. Moreover, pro-Arab groups claimed that the curriculum was anti-Arab, and that it white-washed or breezed over Arab American stories. 

Revisions made to the plan were constant, but on Oct. 15, the bill was finally passed with a unanimous vote among board members. The 900-page Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum focuses on four main ethnic groups: African Americans, Chicanos/Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The curriculum also incorporates lesson plans on Arab, Sikh, Jewish, and Armenian Americans, who are groups not traditionally learned about in school, but whose stories are equally valuable. 

With the bill’s passing, California has become the very first state in the U.S. to have an ethnic studies model curriculum.

Photo courtesy of UNSPLASH.COM