SF School District Won’t Cancel Ethnic Studies, But Pauses Its Homegrown Curriculum

After SFUSD launched its ethnic studies pilot program in 2010, it has had the course available as an elective for all high school students since the 2015–16 school year.

It became a graduation requirement for ninth graders last fall.

“We’re teaching the same units that have always been around, the same core values, the same mission statement for a decade,” Aguirre said.

A 2021 study from Stanford’s Graduate School of Education found that low-achieving students in the SFUSD cl*** were more likely to attend and be engaged in school, graduate and go to college. New research from UC Irvine shows that taking the course in ninth grade boosted GPAs, especially among Black and Latino students.

Aguirre and other district teachers worried a pause to the cl*** could turn into a repeal, as momentum surrounding the expansion of ethnic studies wanes more broadly.

California’s state budget, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom over the weekend, excludes funding to implement a state mandate for ethnic studies in public schools, which was set to go into effect this fall.

Other districts in the Bay Area have also faced legal pushback to plans to expand the course, many of which have stemmed from Israel’s war in Gaza and concerns over allegations of antisemitism in schools.

In addition to the audit, SFUSD plans to introduce a new administrative regulation on supplemental instructional materials in response to the backlash.

The rule will require that resources teachers plan to use in their cl***rooms be reviewed to ensure they are “aligned with district curriculum objectives,” directly related to the course they’re used in and age-appropriate.