FAIR network attorney, Lauren Janov summarized the status of the California ethnic studies mandate in a 2025 op-ed. When the California legislature passed AB101, the bill mandating that high schools offer an ethnic studies course starting in Fall 2025, they added an important caveat — that the ethnic studies graduation requirement will become “operative only upon an appropriation of funds in separate legislation”. The Senate Appropriation Committee estimated that the ethnic studies requirement would cost taxpayers $276 million per year, which competed with other more urgent priorities. The net result was that the state budget for the last two years did not appropriate funds for ethnic studies. Hence, the mandate has lapsed.
In the meantime, many school districts developed ethnic studies courses in anticipation of the mandate, and its associated funding. Approximately ¼ of all California high schools now offer ethnic studies with the overwhelming majority offering the most ideological version referred to as liberated ethnic studies. As summarized in an article in Politico, these classes have been extremely divisive with much of the controversy occurring in the San Francisco Bay Area. Some of the most heated exchanges have occurred at board meetings of the Palo Alto, San Mateo and Tampalpais Union School districts.
The lack of a state mandate does not mean that ethnic studies requirements will go away. Some schools are backing away from the requirement while others are doubling down with the support of activists including many teachers. Some recent examples that were controversial have occurred in the San Francisco Unified, Campbell Unified and North Monterey County School Districts. The curriculum of choice for many of these new adoptions appears to be Voices by Gibbs Smith Education. A critique of this curriculum can be found here.
Finally, although the mandate has lapsed for now, it could reappear under a new administration. Hence, it is important to have alternative curricula that cover the same historical material while avoiding the political ideology and activism underlying most ethnic studies courses. In the last year, FAIR released its own curriculum, Many Stories One Nation which tells the stories of historically underrepresented groups in the context of the American Constitution and its founding principles. In contrast to the radical activism of many alternatives, FAIR’s curriculum emphasizes critical thinking and encourages students to engage in civil discourse across their differences. The initial response to this curriculum from teachers, administrators and school board leaders has been very positive (see links below for details). A detailed lesson outline can be found here.
FAIR is currently looking for partners to trial its new curriculum – if you know of an interested school district or administrator please contact the development team.
Links to previous articles on FAIR’s curriculum:
(I). FAIR Builds Curriculum Momentum at the SBAE and USRA Conferences
(2) FAIR in Charleston: Bringing Many Stories One Nation to School Board Leaders
(3) What We Learned in California: Even Ethnic Studies Teachers Want Something Different
