S1: It's time for KPBS Midday Edition. Four years ago , California made taking an ethnic studies course a requirement for high school graduation. But that effort faces new challenges as the state budget pauses its funding. I'm Andrew Bracken in for Jade Heinemann with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. How a funding pause could impact the state's push for ethnic studies in high schools.
S2: It's not going to go away in terms of the determination and the resistance of people to be fully represented and fully humanized in schools.
S1: We learn more about the history of ethnic studies in California , and what impact the funding change means for San Diego students. That's ahead on Midday Edition. First the news. Four years ago , California passed a law requiring high schoolers to take an ethnic studies course before graduating. That law is called AB 101. But the state's latest budget does not include funding for ethnic studies , and that's left local districts across the state in limbo. Many ethnic studies courses were set to start this fall. So what does this all mean for ethnic studies going forward ? My next guest works with school districts to implement ethnic studies curriculum. His name is James Fabian. He's an associate professor and associate chair in the Department of Learning and Teaching at the University of San Diego. James , welcome to Midday Edition.
S2: Thank you for having me.
S1: So , you know , you've testified before on this AB 101 law. Remind us what that law would have done , you know , with proper funding.
S2: Yeah , that's a really good question in terms of what it would done. I mean , the history of ethnic studies at the state level actually goes back about 20 years. The first time I testified before the state assembly was really in its infancy , when legislators were first thinking about what it would look like to have an ethnic studies curriculum and requirement in secondary schools. And so here we are , 20 some odd years later. We've seen progress , but not surprising. We're seeing pushback. We're seeing delays. And , you know , as is often the case , we see kind of this as an unfunded mandate. So really what we are looking at , I think in terms of AB 101 , in the spirit of AB 101 , was that ethnic studies has really been kind of conceptualized as a policy remedy to systemic racism. I believe AB 101 was really about introducing ethnic studies at the high school level , not just waiting for folks to have access to ethnic studies once they get to higher education. But recognizing the ethnic studies is a really important shift to our public education system at the secondary level. And even before that. So. AB 101 , uh , if funded properly was was uh is is intended to provide a course , a semester long course requirement to all public secondary education , uh , schools and uh , as a way to , um , uh , diversify curriculum and instruction as a way to give context , uh , to , uh , our understanding of race relations , uh , power dynamics and society and giving context to kind of the , the , the , the conditions that , uh , some of the most challenged populations , uh , live under in California and across the country.
S1:
S2: But AB 101 , I think , provides a lot of legitimacy in letting folks know , uh , who , um , are , you know , don't have a background in understanding of ethnic studies , that this is the law of the land. And this is to be expected that we believe that for California to be a peaceful and equitable society , that we need to we need to learn our way to being peaceful and equitable. Um , and so I think what that means is that you're going to see some school districts that were already resistant and maybe have just kind of , um , been implementing ethnic studies , uh , you know , in a kind of a in name only kind of way. They'll continue , uh , with , um , kind of half hearted efforts to implement , design and implement ethnic studies. And then you'll see on the other end of the spectrum , school districts , where they really wholeheartedly believe that ethnic studies is important and they'll continue to do the very best that they can , as they always have with limited resources. So it's , you know , it's a it's a shame because I think , you know , folks require the support , they require the resources in order for ethnic studies really to reach its full potential. Unfortunately for education scholars , especially those who are concerned about access opportunity , equity , this isn't especially surprising at every stage in our country's development around public education. Um , our efforts to make them more equitable , more accessible and more responsive to our linguistic and cultural diversity of our complicated racial past. Um , you know , whether it's bilingual education , multicultural education , And , um , these kinds of backlashes happen whether , you know , as overt kind of forms of pushback or as more systemic forms of pushback in the forms of policies or unfunded mandates. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. I mean , you mentioned this pushback there , and there has been a lot of controversy surrounding ethnic studies in high schools. A lot of that has to do , maybe with how we define ethnic studies.
S2: Ethnic studies is a field of study that comes from the knowledge and wisdom from below. Right ? That is to say , people who have been marginalized in society and for whom our education systems , whether primary , secondary and higher education , those systems weren't built for these , these , uh , these folks , their wisdom traditions , their experiences and and our public education system wasn't built to be responsive to. Them. And so the origins of ethnic studies really comes from the knowledge and the wisdom. Of those communities that were fighting for access , that were fighting for , um , acknowledgement that were there fighting for opportunities in higher education. So the field of ethnic studies was born out of higher education. And it's really diverse. When we talk about defining ethnic studies in secondary education , we're talking about trying to discipline a field. And I use discipline not only in the academic term in terms of a tradition , but I also use it more in terms of the broader term discipline. When you discipline something , you constrain it. You boil it down , you give , you give boundaries to it. And so when we're talking about defining ethnic studies in secondary schools , what we're really trying to do is discipline , something that is really varied and really diverse and really responsive to communities of color , uh , that , um , that have been challenged for generations. And so , um , because I give that background in saying that my definition of ethnic studies really is about understanding the , the , the ethnic struggle , the racial and ethnic struggle of minoritized groups in the United States , particularly with the concept of , of , um , understanding the nation's history of colonization , right of enslavement , of displacement and exploitation.
S1:
S2: Um , since 2018 , I have been part of a program evaluation study to support San Diego Unified School District's ethnic studies , graduation requirements and the goal of our work. Our partnership has been to try to learn alongside of each other , right , and to ask important questions and gather data , and to develop analyses that can help the school district to , um , develop its capacity to support its teachers. Um , some of the challenges that I see with the teachers are , um , is really trying to shoehorn ethnic studies into existing structures , whether they're at the curriculum level and the classroom level , um , or even at the , the academic programming level. And so I can give you some examples of that. So we're seeing really three different kinds of approaches to ethnic studies at the secondary level. Um , the first is to infuse ethnic studies into existing curriculum , um , frameworks such as English language arts or , uh , history , social science , and specifically United States history. So that's one way is the infused route. The second route is as a standalone course , right. Um , and then the third route is , is really to provide students opportunities at the community college or other outside sources where they can fulfill the requirement. What I'm seeing across the board is challenges for teachers , um , to be able to make the space for ethnic studies , to do the deep contextual work that it can do with young people , and especially for young people who need the context , who need to understand the challenges that their communities and their and their families face. Um , it's it's very hard for teachers to do that in terms of the traditional teacher preparation programs. Uh , structure. And as a teacher , educator and as an educational researcher , I see this first and foremost , uh , in a variety of frameworks that are that really drive accreditation , uh , in teacher preparation , that drive state level , uh , policies. Um , and so I really see a challenge in teachers being able to be trained to be community responsive and how they think about curriculum and instruction. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. So I'm so I'm hearing from you , you know , just like teachers need to kind of , uh , learn how to teach effective ways at reading or math. Of course , a similar kind of like deep dive into how to engage students with ethnic studies curriculums is needed from your from your point of view. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. So so that part of it is , yes , it's the instructional or the pedagogical level. A lot of it also is in access to resources , uh , curriculum resources , readings , um , oral histories , uh , local groups and expertise. Uh , you know , the input , so to speak , of what ? Of what happens in the class. It it takes a really discerning teacher , uh , to , to know how to integrate different types of sources , to make the information relevant , to make the information responsive. And that's a real challenge. That's a that's a real challenge at the , um , at the the school district and the school level. What this often means is the resources for professional development. Right. And so I see , um , principals who are doing their , their very , their level best really to provide um , uh , substitute teachers so their , their teachers can , can , uh , can get the professional development support that they need. Um , I see school district officials who bring who are bringing in experts as best they can. Uh , getting professors to come out of the out of the ivory tower into schools can be a really big challenge. So there's , you know , this is this kind of goes back to your earlier question around the governor , the lack of support , you know , and this is really where you see the challenges. And this is among schools and school districts that are already philosophically aligned and already really see the value of ethnic studies. Um , there are a lot of teachers out there in school districts who also see the value , but they're not necessarily supported by their by their school leadership or their or their district leadership , unfortunately.
S1: So , you know , you mentioned a multitude of challenges there. There's also the challenge of this political moment.
S2: Um , I think it also underscores the importance of , of making sure that we are giving , um , students or providing students with educations that are more well-rounded , that are richer. They're more robust and nuanced about these. You know , the challenges of the day , right ? Um , so I see it on multiple levels. I do see that there are , um , school leaders and district administrators who are having to respond to pressures. I will say , though , with AB 101 , at least in terms of the school districts that I worked for. That has been one of the the you know , I think the , the , the positive dimensions of it is that because it was a , because it was a state , it is a state policy. There's a legitimizing there that there has been a calming , uh , in terms of some of the pushback , um , because it's because it is a superintendent or a school board member can say , hey , our state has voted representatives that believe that this is what's in the best interests of our state and our students. So while there has been pushback and pushback is always to be expected when you're trying to give voice and representation to , you know , historically marginalized groups. Um , you know , I think there have also been some bright spots here and there. I think in terms of the current political moment , uh , you know , you can see where California stands in contrast to , uh , much of the broader country in terms of its value , that we're facing a cultural backlash at this moment. And , of course , that's that's really an unnerving. And at the same time , you know , there are 20 some odd , um , policies around the nation requiring ethnic studies in some form. And so California is not the only state where this is occurring. I will say , however , that with the secondary requirement , the requirement at the community college , the CSU and the UC , it is poised to be the most , um , comprehensive of them.
S1: So , you know , given all that , what are your predictions for the future of ethnic studies in high school classrooms. You know , especially with this latest news about statewide funding. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. So I. My mind goes to a couple different , um , places with the question. I think , you know , to , to some degree , uh , culture always trumps policy , right ? And so when I think about where ethnic study sits , as you know , representing the history , the traditions and the wisdom from below and people who are not going to go away and people who are are determined to maintain their identity in a sense of self-determination. It may go away as a policy mandate. It's not going to go away in terms of the determination and the resistance of people to , uh , be fully represented and fully humanized in schools. Right. So in a very broader philosophical response to your question , I think that that's where ethnic studies will always sit. In terms of where it'll go in terms of funding. Um , I think we're already seeing , you know. Uh , there was already a precarious. Degree of commitment , uh , from the governor. Right. This was , uh , if you'll recall , the the the AB 101 was twice , uh , vetoed. Uh , it wasn't until it was , uh , the political pressure from minority communities in response to the racial reckoning of 2020 that really mandated that he sign it. But I don't know that we've ever seen a full throated support of it. And so , you know , I think until I think we don't yet know kind of how our state is going to respond to the broader national moment. And in terms of , you know , our own history of race in our in our states. Um , but I think depending on what the upcoming elections look like , I think it'll have some serious implications. Um , I do think that there's tremendous headway that's been made in terms of people can imagine , uh , for instance , teaching credentials that have , you know , an ethnic studies focus on it. I think that there have been , you know , elaborate professional development , uh , uh , programs and opportunities in ethnic studies. Uh , I think that the I think that potentially we'll see the floodgates open in terms of generationally younger people recognizing more and more that this is long overdue. It's long overdue.
S1: I've been speaking with Professor James Fabian. He's an associate professor and associate chair in the Department of Learning and Teaching at the University of San Diego. Professor , thank you so much for your insights today.
S2: Thank you very much for having me. Ahead.
S1: Ahead. On Midday Edition , we hear how San Diego Unified School District has approached bringing ethnic studies into San Diego classrooms.
S3: Even with budget cuts , there is a way to do this , and it is so important for our students now more than ever that we have to find a way.
S1: Back after the break. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Andrew Bracken in for Jade Hindman. This hour we're talking about the state of the ethnic studies graduation mandate in California public high schools. Several years ago , the state required districts to make ethnic studies mandatory , but now they're pausing that funding , leaving many programs in limbo. But here in San Diego , many students are already taking ethnic studies courses. The San Diego Unified School District voted to mandate ethnic studies back in 2019. Joining me to talk about the status of the program is Wendy Burr , PhD. She's senior executive director of equity , access and opportunity with the San Diego Unified School District. Wendy , welcome to Midday Edition.
S3: Hi , Andrew. Thanks for having me.
S1: Great to have you here. So under AB 101 , ethnic studies would have been a requirement for all districts beginning with the class of 2030. But you all were able to kind of do it a little bit earlier , starting that with the class of 2024.
S3: If you look at some individual course offerings , um , we were offering courses for ethnic studies as early as 2000. They would have fallen under that definition of ethnic studies as we define it now. Um , and we were focused on that work and wanting to make it a graduation requirement even before AB 101 , because we believe representation matters. And the evidence for ethnic studies and its positive impacts on academics for all students is quite consistent and compelling. And so , as a district , we decided to proceed forward because the state had been , uh , moving forward with the mandate for a graduation requirement , stepped back from it , move forward. And finally , we just said we need to move forward with it , and the state will get there when they get there.
S1: So yeah. So not waiting for the state seeing a unified you. You've been kind of pushing on this for several years now. Can you talk a little bit about what you know , these what an ethnic studies class looks like. What you know , what does the curriculum cover ? Uh , yeah.
S3: And so an ethnic studies class and as allowed for by the state frameworks , which is what we operate under , you can put you can have ethnic studies courses that are courses by themselves. Um , and we do have a course like that Introduction to Ethnic Studies , but we have more than ten courses that have been authored by , uh , our staff in consultation with other organizations. And most of our courses embed ethnic studies , content and principles into other subject areas such as history , English , or the visual and performing arts. So those classes , if you were to go into those classes , you would see many of the same skills in any history or English class. Um , that wasn't an ethnic studies course , and that students are being asked to read complex texts , having discussions about , um , about complex ideas and being able to write about those from their perspective with evidence from the work that they have completed in class.
S1:
S3: Uh , and that's a need all across the state. We connect with other educators with this work across the state. So I would be remiss to say that we weren't disappointed. However , how is it going to impact our ethnic studies program here in San Diego Unified ? I think it's important to look at the reality of the situation. Ethnic studies has not been funded by the state , other than a block grant that we received in 2122. So all the work that we've done in ethnic studies , up until that block grant was the work that we were doing with funds already allocated to the district. So the budget impact is made us have to think about how we can deliver professional development differently. And that is definitely , um , that's definitely an area that we want to continue focusing on with our ethnic studies work moving forward.
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S3: And the other thing that we do that's very , very important is we have teachers who have expertise in ethnic studies , and they go out to classrooms and they teach side by side with teachers , because when you're trying to put together lessons , um , using texts that offer multiple perspectives and getting students to engage in dialogue , having a second teacher in the room to help you when you're learning how to do that , um , has been very successful and is supportive to our teachers , so we'll continue to do that. We just won't be able to scale it to the level we had hoped if there had been state funding.
S1: So I want to talk a little bit more about , you know , this motivation for ethnic studies. And I think you touched on this earlier , but why is it important for students to , you know , see their identities and cultures reflected in the classes they take.
S3: Well , we heard from our students , we have a variety of different mechanisms in our district to hear from students. And we heard from students over the the course of the past decade since I've been involved in ethnic studies work that students aren't seeing themselves in their classroom materials. Some of our students who have taken English classes in our district have said they never read a book by an author of color. And so that was that was deeply troubling to us , because we are leaving out , uh , a whole collection of voices that have experiences that are unique and enrich our communities and enrich our classrooms. And we can only get better at relationships and working together when we understand one another's experiences. So and again , the other reason that we really believe in our work in ethnic studies is the research that is proven over and over again , that it improves engagement with school , improves grades , and increases awareness about diverse members of the community.
S1: You know , I imagine one challenge of of serving the students. You mentioned this like really trying to reflect people's identities. You know , the students identities in these courses. But seeing unified is a large school district. I think it's the second largest in the state of California. So how do you balance that ? You know , obviously , having to serve such a wide variety of communities and schools , but also serving the individual needs of a particular community in a particular neighborhood school.
S3: So that's a great question. And that's where the principles of ethnic studies come into play , because the principles of ethnic studies remain in place and what can be modified and supported based on where the course is offered is the selections that are used within that course. So for example , if it's a if it's an English class with an ethnic studies focus , uh , teachers have always had the flexibility to select different texts , and they can select texts that match the students that are in front of them and also offering them some text by , uh , other diverse groups that may not be in their classroom so that they can also get a window into that world as well.
S1: So the statewide ethnic studies mandate has been , you know , controversial from its inception. Many parents have spoken out against it. Some of them in San Diego.
S3: Um , and so we have different community groups that we , uh , that we listen to through regular meetings with those community members. Um , we also have on our district website a way for on our ethnic studies website , a way for community members to give us feedback and input. Uh , we do sometimes have some community groups that recommend curriculum or suggest curriculum , which it is ultimately the district's responsibility and the curriculum team's responsibility to review that. Because first and foremost , um , we are responsible for making sure that we're teaching to standards and that we are aligning to the state framework for ethnic studies.
S1: So on the flip side of this concerns , you know , other academics argue that schools offering may be offering a watered down version of ethnic studies.
S3: It's a watered down version of a well constructed ethnic studies class taught by a teacher who has proper training is absolutely not a watered down course. It is actually a very challenging course because students are being asked to take into consideration multiple perspectives , weigh that against their own thinking , and come up with new ideas and new perspectives , and also engage in discussions with their peers and defend their ideas. So that is by no means an easy task , and I would not say , um is watered down by any means.
S1: Well , and another , you know , point you kind of made earlier is it sounds like a lot of this curriculum is integrated into different subject areas , right ? I mean , how does that allow students and kids to kind of , I don't know , enter ethnic studies , but from a different perspective , perhaps.
S3: Yes , it does. It does allow for that. And it is one of the reasons why we made the choice to approach our ethnic studies work here in San Diego Unified by embedding it into other courses. Um , so , for example , one of our courses , we have a US history course with an ethnic studies focus. And we wrote that that was one of our first courses that we wrote in collaboration with , um , uh , Facing History and with that particular course , looking at , um , just thinking of the different perspectives that you could bring to , uh , to US history events based on the different , uh , groups.
S1: What would you like to see from , from other districts , you know , whether here locally in San Diego County or statewide when it comes to ethnic studies ? I mean , we're kind of well aware that there's there's a lot happening in this space , you know , at the university level on down. What would you like to see more of from other local school districts ? I.
S3: I would really like to see , um , across the state that we had a network of ethnic studies educators who were supporting one another in this work. Um , ethnic studies began as a university level course , and we are bringing it into a K-12 environment , which I think is incredibly important. But , um , in order to get the highest quality experience for our students out of that , um , we need people to come together who are doing this work and , um , to share ideas , share best practices. Even with budget cuts , there is a way to do this , and it is so important for our students now more than ever that we have to find a way. We simply have to find a way. So I'd like to see other districts not back down just because they're not being funded. There are many things that aren't funded that are important for kids , and this is one of them.
S1: You know.
S3: They can learn more about what we're doing here. And I would also encourage them to do some learning about ethnic studies. Um , talking to students , we do a student survey , um , every year and our results from 23 , 24 , um , over 70% of our students agreed or strongly agreed that they learned , excuse me , about diverse people in their community and that it positively impacted their commitment to learning and coming to school. So , um , I would I would encourage people to , to learn more , um , and engage. And we're always here to listen. That is what we do because that's what's going to make us better and stronger.
S1: I've been speaking with Wendy Burr , Ph.D. she's senior executive director of equity access and opportunity with the San Diego Unified School District. Wendy , thanks.
S3: Thanks , Andrew.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm Andrew Bracken. KPBS Midday Edition airs on KPBS FM weekdays at noon , again at 8 p.m.. You can find past episodes at KPBS or wherever you listen. Thanks again for listening. Have a great day.
