SANTA CRUZ >> Under a new bill, California’s public high schools could be required to offer ethnic studies classes as part of an effort to build cultural understanding.
“This is a bill that’s going to take a lot of work,” said Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, who introduced the legislation last week. “Local efforts already show that it can be done in a significant way.”
The bill comes after San Francisco Unified School District recently approved the expansion of ethnic studies courses. The El Rancho Board of Education in Southern California and Los Angeles Unified School District previously made the classes a graduation requirement.
El Rancho was partly inspired by Alejo’s proposed legislation last summer to study the best way to implement an ethnic studies curriculum in high schools statewide, which failed due to lack of funds for such a program.
“We wanted to be leaders at the forefront of this movement and were willing to be a pilot,” said Jose Lara, vice president of the El Rancho Board of Education and history teacher who helped lead the effort in Los Angeles. “The concept of at least ethnic studies being offered in every high school in California is a huge step forward.”
The state boasts one of the largest and most diverse student populations in the country. Of its 6.2 million public school students, 75 percent are nonwhite. About a third of Santa Cruz County’s students are white.
“I support the philosophy behind it because I think we need to have a better understanding of all cultures,” Santa Cruz County schools Superintendant Michael Watkins said.
Ethnic studies explore often relegated perspectives in history and literature and explore social justice, ethnic identity and race-based systems of oppression. Critics have said the courses can be divisive rather than unifying, but Alejo thinks otherwise.
“When we understand each other’s communities, we understand each other better,” said Alejo, who has a degree in Chicano studies from UC Berkeley.
Despite California’s growing diversity in classrooms, minorities’ experiences are often left out of lesson plans, said Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, ethnic studies professor at San Francisco State University.
The purpose of ethnic studies is for students to learn about themselves, their heritage and their community’s history, which can help them address current issues, Tintiangco-Cubales explained.
“It’s not only about history but about now,” she said.
Supporters point out many universities require diversity classes and say ethnic studies hopefully will narrow the achievement gap by helping students feel valued by their education system.
The pilot program in San Francisco has helped boost students’ grade point averages and reduced unexcused absences.
However, new academic standards for California could cost school districts millions of dollars for new classes, staff and materials.
“So far there has not been a lot of pushback on the idea, just on the technicalities of implementation,” Lara said.
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