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WELCOME TO THE ETHNIC STUDIES LEARNING HUB
The Ethnic Studies Origin Story: Uncovering the History Behind Education’s Most Controversial Discipline
Whether you're a seasoned expert or simply curious, this session will challenge your assumptions, equip you with new insights, and leave you better prepared to engage in one of America's most critical and ongoing debates.
Discover hidden connections between historical activism, controversial educational mandates, and today’s fierce ideological battles unfolding inside classrooms nationwide. You'll understand precisely how concepts such as intersectionality, decolonization, land acknowledgements, and dismantling systems of power have quietly reshaped curricula—and why this matters profoundly, even if you don't have kids currently attending K-12 schools.
Whether you're a seasoned expert or simply curious, this session will challenge your assumptions, equip you with new insights, and leave you better prepared to engage in one of America's most critical and ongoing debates.
California Commission on the State of Hate
2023-2024
REPORT FINDS THAT Ethnic studies FUELS DIVISION & HATE
Commission on State of Hate Annual Report Highlighting Ethnic Studies Dangers, Calls for Pause | FEBRUARY 2025
The California Commission on the State of Hate’s 2023-2024 Annual Report provides a critical examination of ethnic studies implementation, education policy, and hate prevention efforts in California schools.
The report highlights serious concerns about bias, enforcement failures, and the lack of oversight in ethnic studies curricula, which must be addressed before further educational mandates are pursued.
LATEST PEERK12 ARTICLES ON ETHNIC STUDIES
California department of justice
California Department of Justice:
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Legal Alert TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS on Curriculum
January 9, 2024
California’s Education Code also requires that curricula and instructional materials used in public schools:
1. Reflect the diversity of the State by including a study of the role and contributions of protected groups (Ed. Code, § 51204.5);
2. Accurately “portray the cultural and racial diversity” of society (Ed. Code, § 60040);
3. Not contain any matter reflecting adversely on persons because of their race, sex, color, national origin, or ancestry. (Ed. Code, § 51501.)
4. Not teach or promote religious doctrine (Ed. Code, § 51225.3, subd. (a)(1)(G)(v).
debunked studies on positive outcomes
Studies Fail to Support Claims of New California Ethnic Studies Requirement
A law mandating the course for all public high school students is based on two unreplicated studies that distort the data.
March 28, 2022 | RICHARD SANDER and ABRAHAM WYNER
Last fall, when California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a measure that could require every California public high school student to take an “ethnic studies” course to graduate, he alluded to two studies commonly cited by advocates to justify the measure, claiming the research shows that ethnic studies courses “boost student achievement over the long run—especially among students of color.”
But the experiment on which these conclusions are based is so muddled, and the data reported is so ambiguous, that in fact they support no conclusion, either positive or negative, about the effects of this particular ethnic studies course in these particular schools and times.
Far from demonstrating the value of ethnic studies courses, these studies merely demonstrate how easy it is in our overheated political environment to subvert statistical analyses for political purposes.
Debunking the myth that ethnic studies promotes educational outcomes
"The work they present fails many basic tests of scientific method, and it should not have been published as written, much less relied upon in the formulation of public policy."
frequently asked questions about ethnic studies
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What is ethnic studies, and how is it different from multicultural education?ETHNIC STUDIES: "Ethnic studies is the interdisciplinary study that centers Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, Chicanx/Latinx, American Indians/Native Americans, and Africana/Black/African Americans who have experienced, survived, and resisted settler colonialism, racism, and hegemonic systems of oppression. Using ethnic studies epistemology, content and pedagogy, ethnic studies aims to educate students to be socially, politically, and economically conscious of their personal connections to local and (trans)national histories. Students study topics through the intersectional lenses of race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexuality, ability, language, immigrant status, and class. They analyze indigeneity, white supremacy, oppression, privilege, and decolonization, and work toward empowering themselves as anti-racist leaders in social justice activism." MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION: As established in California SB 48— includes the contributions of all ethnic, religious, LGBTQ+, and disabled communities to California and U.S. history.
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What is AB 101?Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 101 in 2021, which requires a one-semester ethnic studies course for high school graduation, starting with the class of 2030. It also requires all high schools to offer an ethnic studies course beginning in the 2025–26 school year. However, the bill includes the phrase "upon appropriation," meaning that the requirement is not enforceable unless the state legislature allocates specific funds for its implementation. The California State Budget announced on January 10, 2025 failed to appropriate any funds towards Ethnic Studies - making the mandate null and void.
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Is ethnic studies currently a graduation mandate in California?No - not yet: AB 101 (2021) says schools must offer an ethnic studies course by 2025–26. It becomes a graduation requirement for the class of 2029–30—but only if the state funds implementation. As of now, it is unfunded. This means the mandate is not active, yet many districts are already implementing courses anyway, often with little public transparency. LAST UPDATED: April 2025
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What legal requirements must ethnic studies courses meet?By law, ethnic studies courses: Must not promote bias, bigotry, or discrimination. Must be appropriate for students of all backgrounds. Cannot include or promote religious doctrine. These rules are outlined in Education Code §51225.3(a)(1)(G).
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Do schools have to use the state’s model ethnic studies curriculum?No. Districts can choose from four options: A course based on the state’s model curriculum. An existing ethnic studies course. An A–G approved ethnic studies course (meeting UC/CSU requirements). A locally developed course, approved by the school board at a public meeting. However, any course used must have ethnic studies as its primary content and comply with anti-bias laws; and: By law, ethnic studies courses: Must not promote bias, bigotry, or discrimination. Must be appropriate for students of all backgrounds. Cannot include or promote religious doctrine. These rules are outlined in Education Code §51225.3(a)(1)(G).
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Why is there so much concern about antisemitism in ethnic studies?Hundreds of incidents and lawsuits have documented antisemitic content or behavior in ethnic studies programs. Jewish and Israeli-American students have been excluded or vilified in some lessons. After October 7, 2023, many of the leading PhD experts in ethnic studies glorified Hamas and minimized Jewish perspectives. In Oakland, more than 30 Jewish families had to transfer their children out of the public school district due to the hostile and dangerous environment that ethnic studies had created inside classrooms. In May 2024, the Congressional House Ed & Workforce Committee held a hearing to investigate the rise of antisemitism in K-12 and found a direct link to Ethnic Studies as one of the root causes. The 2024 California Commission on the State of Hate found that these issues are widespread and unmonitored. In April 2025, the California Department of Education completed an investigation into the Campbell Unified School District and concluded that their ethnic studies program DID violate the civil rights of Jewish students.
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What does the new ethnic studies bill in California - AB 1468 - propose to do?AB 1468 (2025) would create official content standards, curriculum frameworks, and state compliance monitoring for ethnic studies by 2028. It adds: A mandatory advisory committee made up mostly of scholars in the four “core” disciplines. A statewide mandate for districts to submit all ethnic studies curricula to the state by June 30, 2026—before standards are adopted. A new role for the CA Dept. of Ed to monitor compliance, but without clear mechanisms for enforcement.
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What makes AB 1468 especially risky?It gives state power to a narrow advisory committee focused on four groups. It adds bureaucratic mandates before defining standards. It locks in a specific ideological approach to education, without including groups like Jews, Armenians, Middle Eastern Americans, or religious minorities. It adds more rules—but no real enforcement, just like AB 101. It potentially creates a fast-track for ethnic studies to become an admissions requirement for the UC and CSU systems.
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Who decides what gets taught in ethnic studies classes?Currently, local school boards approve the curriculum—but there are no specific guidelines in place, outside of the guardrails in AB101 - added to ensure school districts would not include any of the removed bigoted, antisemitic, and biased content that previously made the model curriculum unusable. Dozens of lawsuits sprang up across California as school districts failed to implement any of the guardrails or protections, especially around the Jewish American experience and the Israel-Palestinian Wars.
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Doesn’t California already require inclusive and diverse education?Yes. SB 48 (2011) requires inclusive instruction on the contributions of all cultural groups, including LGBTQ+, religious, and disabled people. Ed Code § 51204.5 and § 60040 mandate inclusive and bias-free materials. These laws already allow multicultural education without ethnic studies-specific mandates.
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Is there oversight to ensure ethnic studies is unbiased and appropriate?No—not in practice. While AB 101 includes language prohibiting bias or discrimination, there is no real enforcement mechanism. The State Board of Education does not vet local ethnic studies curricula unless the district voluntarily adopts the state model (which itself has been controversial). The Attorney General’s legal alert (2024) reiterates anti-bias obligations—but acknowledges no active enforcement is occurring. Ethnic studies is currently unregulated with activist organizations and consultants pushing unvetted, often divisive materials into classrooms.