TAKE ACTION: Save Ethnic Studies

The California Department of Education has just released its fourth revision to the California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) and one thing is painfully clear: The current curriculum has been shaped by predominantly white, rightwing interest groups and not by Ethnic Studies scholars themselves.

The California Department of Education has done little to address the concerns of tens of thousands of people over the last two years, including Ethnic Studies scholars and experts—we need your help to hold them accountable.

California State Board of Education: We urge you not to vote on passing this sabotaged curriculum until you uphold the core principles of Ethnic Studies and include the stories and histories of Arab peoples.

Join us in making it super clear to the decision makers behind this backwards curriculum before it is too late—Ethinic Studies advocates do not support this curriculum nor do the marginalized peoples this curriculum is intended to serve.

As Angela Davis states: “As is often the case when Black, Indigenous, and people of color gain power, attacks on Ethnic Studies have plagued the discipline since its earliest days. Today’s fight to maintain the integrity of the ESMC is the next phase of the fight to defend Ethnic Studies.”

As our state's decision makers continue to face scrutiny for this watered-down attempt at Ethnic Studies, all original writers and members of the ESMC Advisory Committee have asked for their names to be removed as authors of the curriculum. They join the California Teachers Association (CTA) and other expert practitioners in raising concerns that the draft privileges Eurocentric History over the stories of Black, brown, and Indigenous peoples.

In these times of change and possibility, join us in demanding the State Board of Education reject the inaccurate and offensive revisions made to this curriculum, restore Arab-American Studies to its rightful place, and re-empower the Ethnic Studies experts who have shaped this powerful and critical area of study for our students.

Use the one-click letter-writing tool to send an email to the CA Department of Education. Email them NOW and demand #DefendEthnicStudies!

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TAKE ACTION: Save Ethnic Studies

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We'll notify your representative

Ethnic Studies Open Comment

Tony Thurmond (Superintendent )

Shanine Coats (Director of Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources)

State Board of Education

Your Letter *

Dear [recipient position will go here]  [recipient name will go here],

The California Department of Education has just released its fourth revision to the California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC). Rather than bringing the curriculum closer to fidelity with Ethnic Studies as a discipline, the changes in the most recent draft are even farther from the core principles of Ethnic Studies and were shaped by predominantly white, rightwing interest groups and by non-Ethnic Studies scholars.

They have done little to address the concerns of tens of thousands of people over the last two years, including Ethnic Studies scholars and experts.

All original writers and members of the ESMC Advisory Committee have asked for their names to be removed as authors of the curriculum. They join the California Teachers Association (CTA) and other expert practitioners in raising concerns that the draft is based on a  multicultural perspective tied to the Eurocentric History Social Studies Framework. Assembly Bill 2016 promised Californians an Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, not a Multicultural Model Curriculum. In short, the current ESMC does not meet the mandate of Assembly Bill 2016.

We urge you the State Board of Education not to move forward with voting on this curriculum until the California Department of Education:

- Re-inserts an Arab American lesson plan, including Palestine, within the Asian American Studies section of the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, with content and pedagogy developed by Arab American educators and true to the discipline of Ethnic Studies.

- Restores the original key Ethnic Studies concepts, guiding values and principles which make Ethnic Studies the academic discipline it is today.

- Re-insert the key terms and definitions aligned with Ethnic Studies scholarship and pedagogy and correct erroneous information about Ethnic Studies.

It is unacceptable for any discipline to be determined by those outside its field. It’s particularly disturbing for rightwing interest groups, and those who do not represent communities of color to determine the future of Ethnic Studies in California.

We are outraged that elected officials ignored tens of thousands of public comments.

In these times of change and possibility, please reject the inaccurate and offensive revisions made to this curriculum, restore Arab-American Studies to its rightful place, and re-empower the Ethnic Studies experts who have shaped this powerful and critical area of study for our students.

Thank you,
[your name will go here]
[your email address will go here] [your location will go here]

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