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.

AB 101, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2021, mandates a one-semester ethnic studies course for high school graduation starting with the class of 2030. High schools must offer this course beginning in the 2025–26 school year. However, this requirement is contingent on state funding, which has not yet been allocated, rendering the mandate inactive for now.

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

Ethnic studies courses must not promote bias, bigotry, or discrimination, must be appropriate for all students, and cannot include or promote religious doctrine. These requirements are outlined in Education Code §51225.3(a)(1)(G).

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).

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.

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​​.

AB 1468 is considered risky because it centralizes power in a narrow advisory committee, imposes bureaucratic mandates without clear standards, and locks in a specific ideological approach. It excludes groups like Jews, Armenians, and religious minorities, adds rules without enforcement, and could make ethnic studies a requirement for UC and CSU admissions.

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.

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​​.

No, there is no effective oversight. While AB 101 prohibits bias and discrimination, there is no enforcement mechanism. The State Board of Education does not vet local curricula unless districts adopt the state model. The Attorney General’s 2024 legal alert reiterates anti-bias obligations but admits no active enforcement. Ethnic studies remains largely unregulated, with unvetted and often divisive materials being introduced into classrooms.