Silicon Valley parents are demanding transparency about a new ethnic studies course ahead of its launch this fall. But the California school district piloting the course is remaining tight-lipped.
Two high schools in wealthy Palo Alto will teach the new class to a small group of incoming freshmen ahead of the state-mandated rollout in the 2025-26 school year. The San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Ethnic studies covers the experiences of minority groups in America, particularly those of African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders.
Members of the Palo Alto Parents Alliance (PA²) want to preview the curriculum before it premieres, fearing the controversial course will take a “liberative” approach that focuses on discrimination and oppression rather than an “inclusive” approach.
“It would definitely help if we as parents could see the curriculum,” Alan Crystal, the father of a rising senior, told the Chronicle. “What we really want to do is see what’s being proposed and see the curriculum.”
“It would certainly help if we as parents could see the curriculum,” said Alan Crystal (left). Members of the Palo Alto Parents Alliance (PA²) are demanding transparency and want to see the ethnic studies curriculum before it is rolled out.
“We are not against ethnic studies,” said Sarith Honigstein, member of PA². “Our problem is the non-transparent rollout.”
Proponents argue that the course helps minority students learn more about their culture and history, especially points that are missing from standard textbooks.
Members of PA² collected 1,400 signatures on a petition calling for transparency, saying they support ethnic studies but also want the chance to voice their opinions.
“We are not against ethnic studies,” Sarith Honigstein, a member of PA², told The Chronicle. “Our problem is the non-transparent rollout.”
Bill Honig, former California Superintendent of Public Instruction, described a “liberated” model in Ed Bron such as: ‘Presenting non-whites as victims and whites, individually and collectively through institutions, as oppressors.’
He described an “inclusive” approach this way: “Inclusive ethnic studies do not prioritize group membership over the uniqueness of each individual… Reject group identity as the primary lens for understanding history, society, culture, and politics… Emphasize the importance of an individual’s characteristics.”
In a May letter, PA² argued that “the approach that PAUSD [Palo Alto United School District] chooses to teach is important because division and unrest have arisen in the boardrooms and classrooms of school districts that have embraced “liberated” ethnic studies.”
Guillermo Lopez, the school district’s assistant director, insisted that students receive an “inclusive” curriculum
There is no universal curriculum for ethnic studies in the state. It is largely up to districts how they choose to teach it.
The district has held three consultation sessions with parents. Parents indicate that they have received few answers.
Parents are concerned that the class will teach a “liberated” model instead of an “inclusive” one. The school district denies it is working on a “liberated” model and has demanded that parents ensure their students learn an “inclusive” curriculum, according to Vice Principal Guillermo Lopez (pictured)
The concerns do not come out of the blue.
The school district of nearby San Mateo received hundreds of complaints from parents who alleged that its ethnic studies course promoted a left-wing agenda. In addition, Mountain View Los Altos High School District was sued by a nonprofit group to release its curriculum documents, the Chronicle reported.
The debate isn’t limited to California’s borders. Florida banned an AP course on African-American studies, while Tennessee banned teachers from teaching certain topics related to race.
DEI and critical race lessons have sparked massive debate across America and are a key issue in the 2024 presidential election.
Parents in Palo Alto fear the course will end up like the curriculum of UC Berkeley’s History Social-Science Project, which worked with the school district to help develop the course’s concepts.
PA² expressed concerns about Berkeley’s programming, noting that the project’s main concepts are that a white man is privileged and that Western society is oppressive.
Lopez told the Chronicle that Berkeley’s programming “isn’t really applicable to our education.”
Palo Alto High School (pictured) and Henry M. Gunn High School will pilot a new ethnic studies course with a small group of incoming freshmen before its state-mandated rollout begins in the 2025-26 school year.
Lopez stressed that the pilot course taking place this fall will not be the final curriculum because the district wants to learn what works and what doesn’t.
He also stressed that the pilot course being taught this fall will not be the final curriculum.
“All we can do is continue to have … conversations and train our staff to understand some of the do’s and don’ts,” Lopez said. “Our goal is to be inclusive of all communities.”
Jason Muñiz, director of the Berkeley project, told the Chronicle that the project was intended to “help teachers tailor lessons to their own district.”