Empowering Understanding and Inclusion
Beginning with the graduating class of 2029-30, all California high school students must complete a semester-long course in ethnic studies to earn a high school diploma.
To meet this mandate, high schools must start to offer courses starting in the 2025-26 school year.
What is Ethnic Studies?
Ethnic Studies is...
- Is an
interdisciplinary field: history, literature, economics, sociology, anthropology, and political science
- Is the study of
race,
ethnicity, and
indigeneity, with an emphasis on the experiences of people of color in the United States
- Grapples with the various
power structures and forms of oppression that continue to have social, emotional, cultural, economic, and political impacts
-
Highlights contributions to many areas of government, politics, the arts, medicine, economics, and others, made by people of color
Why is Ethnic Studies Important:
By affirming the identities and contributions of marginalized groups in our society, ethnic studies helps students see themselves and each other as part of the narrative of the United States. This helps students see themselves as active agents in the interethnic bridge-building process we call American life (from the
CDE Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum).
Core Themes:
The Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum has four themes:
- Identity
- History and Movement
- Systems of Power
- Social Movements and Equity
The Model Curriculum also discusses four foundational disciplines: Black/African American, Latina/o/x, and Chicano/a/x, Native American, and Asian American and Pacific Islander.
Broader Impact:
Ethnic Studies
contributes to People of Color by celebrating often overlooked contributions in government, arts, medicine, and more. Ethnic Studies also
promotes civic engagement by developing equity-driven skills, coalition-building, and strategies for effective community action.
