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With a state ethnic studies mandate on hold after the California Legislature failed to provide funding for it, the Mountain View Los Altos School District is now considering options to change its existing program.
At a Sept. 29 meeting, MVLA’s school board reviewed four options for ethnic studies going forward, three of which would shorten the course to a one semester offering. Currently, ethnic studies is a required, yearlong course for all freshmen in the district. MVLA implemented ethnic studies as its ninth grade social studies course beginning in the 2023-24 school year.
The state Legislature passed a law back in 2021 to require districts to offer at least one semester of ethnic studies starting this school year. However, the state lawmakers did not allocate money to implement the course, meaning that the mandate hasn’t taken effect.
Over the past several years, ethnic studies has become a political flashpoint in California, with heated debates over the course and its content.
At Monday’s board meeting, district staff presented various ways to adjust the course, all of which would keep it as a required class. The four options were:
- Model A: Full year of ethnic studies (the current district requirement)
- Model B: One semester of ethnic studies + one semester of health
- Model C: One semester of ethnic studies + one semester of world history
- Model D: One semester of ethnic studies + one semester of a student’s choice from a curated list of classes
Several community members, including parents and teachers, took the mic to address the board about ethnic studies at the Sept. 29 meeting, with nearly all praising the district’s current set up.
Arianna Bautista Santiago, a Mountain View High School junior, said that ethnic studies gave her the chance to study how fellow members of the Latino community fought for education rights. The course allowed Santiago and her classmates to become more comfortable with one another as their understanding of each other grew throughout the year, she explained.
“It’s one thing to get to know one another, but there was just a feeling that in the class, you knew you could belong and not be nervous to be in it,” she said.
District staff emphasized that because all freshmen are required to take ethnic studies, students get to share in the experience of learning about the cultures and histories of marginalized communities.
Last spring, MVLA students had the opportunity to give their perspective on the class. In a district survey, students reported generally positive experiences with ethnic studies, although roughly 64% favored shortening the course to one-semester.
Monday’s presentation served only as an informational item, allowing board members to ask questions about the logistics of each of the models. District staff plan to hold a study session before the regular board meeting on Oct.13 to discuss the topic in more detail.
Mountain View High School Social Studies Department Coordinator Nate Bowen told the Voice after the meeting that the district put a lot of time and effort into creating a meaningful ethnic studies curriculum that gives students the skills and knowledge necessary to navigate an “increasingly complicated world.”
“When we developed the course, we really tried to be mindful of who our community is, the great diversity of different folks that we have in our community,” he said. “We wanted a course that really got students to appreciate nuance and complexity in different situations.”
Board member Thida Cornes asked what it would take for district staff to pare down the ethnic studies curriculum to just one semester. Chelsea Doiguchi, the Los Altos High School social studies department coordinator, said it would create a “large workload” for district staff.
“Everyone on that team has different opinions on what they would like to keep, what they would want to potentially get rid of,” Doiguchi said. “There’s a lot of very passionate teachers who poured blood, sweat and tears into creating that curriculum, and so, it’ll [take] a long time.”
Board member Alex Levich thanked the district staff for their presentation, adding that she recognizes the amount of work that went into creating the year-long ethnic studies curriculum.
“I can see you guys have real pride in the quality of what was achieved, and now, the shifting state requirements are adding a bunch of complexities,” she said.
District staff urged the board to consider how changing the ethnic studies set up might affect teacher’s job stability. Levich emphasized that she wants to explore options that address this concern.
The district hopes to reach a decision on what to do with its ethnic studies course by the end of October, so that staff members have time to make any changes before the district builds its master schedule in January, Superintendent Eric Volta said.
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