UCLA

In 2021, with the passage of Assembly Bill 101 (AB 101), California became the first state in the nation to make Ethnic Studies (ES) a high school graduation requirement. In conjunction with AB 101, the California State Board of Education (SBE) initiated the development of the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC, 2022) to help “students see themselves as active agents in the interethnic bridge-building process we call American life” (p. 8). The graduating class of 2030 (incoming ninth-graders, fall 2026) is slated to be the first generation of students accountable to the ES mandate. The opportunity and potential to harness the energies and aspirations of millions of young people in service to the re/construction and expansion of our multiracial democracy is immense.Given the relatively little research on how to develop, implement, and institutionalize ES teaching and learning at the K-12 district level, and even less so at the state level, this study contributes to this area. Investigation of a medium-sized, suburban school district (13,000), reflecting comparable racial and class demographics (60% Latina/o/x; 30% White) to that of the state, merit examination. By reflecting upon their work to institutionalize ES, interviews with a range of classroom practitioners and administrators responsible for ES implementation can be a valuable resource to districts who are early in their development or have yet to begin. Additionally, analyzing student course satisfaction ratings and corresponding narrative feedback provide insight and perspective on the impact of their ES experience. Lastly, cross-referencing practitioner experience and student feedback with the grassroots community organization that fought for the initiative provide meaningful insight into institutionalization in relation to the liberatory purpose of the ES educational project.