After eight hours of public comment, the California State Board of Education voted during its March meeting to adopt the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum developed by the California Department of Education (CDE). The model curriculum is not a mandate, but rather provides guidance to districts wishing to develop their own ethnic studies courses. Additionally, the board action does not create an ethnic studies graduation requirement. However, pending legislation (AB 101-Medina) would require schools to begin offering an ethnic studies course during the 2025-26 school year. Beginning with the class of 2030, there would be a one-semester ethnic studies requirement for graduation.

See the CDE’s Model Curriculum page for the most recent draft of the curriculum. More information can also be found in Agenda Item 9 as well as the following attachment from the board meeting.

Act Fast for Chance of Free Webinar: Choices in Little Rock

In 1957, nine black teenagers faced the threats of angry mobs when they attempted to enter Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The desegregation of Central High following Brown v. Board of Education ignited a crisis that historian Taylor Branch has described as “the most severe test of the Constitution since the Civil War.”

This online workshop includes two 2.5-hour synchronous meetings with opportunities of asynchronous learning in between. It will introduce participants to the Choices in Little Rock unit and help prepare them to teach this unit in their classrooms. They will engage directly with unit materials, explore teaching strategies appropriate for this content, and reflect on ways to adapt and expand on this content with your students.

The first 20 teachers from San Diego, Orange, and Imperial counties to register will have their registration fees waived and receive a free hardcopy of the Choices in Little Rock book.

The meeting dates are April 21 and April 28 from 3:30 to 5 p.m., and the registration fee is $100. Register here.

The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) and the Orange County Department of Education are partnering with Dr. Hueling Lee, executive director of Authentic Preparation Today (APT), to host a webinar series from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on May 4, May 11, and May 18 to support the integration of civics across the curriculum. In this webinar, educators, including school and district leaders, will discuss the Four Guiding Principles for Integrating Civic Learning, The Inquiry Arc of The C3 Framework, and the Civic Engagement Competencies Framework. Attendees will apply learnings to school and district planning for the State Seal of Civic Engagement. If you are interested, please register register here.

Dr. Thomas Herman, of San Diego State University and director of the Young People’s Environment, Society, and Space Research Center, will introduce strategies and resources to help history-social science teachers activate a geographic lens and maximize understanding in any of their courses. This free webinar will be held from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. May 13. Register here.

Throughout this year-long program, educators will interact with academic scholars, professionals, local government, community partners, and colleagues to learn to:

Teachers who participate fully will receive a $500 stipend. Units are available through University of San Diego ($225 for three units paid by the participant). Please see this flyer for more information.

California Assembly Bill 1912, introduced by California Assemblymember Chris Holden was signed into law in 2014. It calls for instruction on the historical significance of the election of President Barack Obama as the first African American president of the United States.

A new set of lessons developed by the Constitutional Rights Foundation in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Office of Education Content, Literacy, Inquiry, and Citizenship (CLIC) statewide project explores the significance of the election of President Obama in 2008.

These three new lessons include one lesson each for lower elementary, upper elementary, and secondary grade levels, and:

Access and download the lessons and view a recorded webinar overview at no cost.

The Genocide Education Project, in partnership with Woven Teaching, is offering a new resource for high school history-social science teachers. This instructional guide and lesson plans for teaching about genocide and its common stages uses the history of six case studies: the Armenian, Cambodian, Guatemalan, Native American, and Rwandan genocides, and the Holocaust.

Teachers can also attend a webinar from 3:30 to 5 p.m. April 19 that introduces educators to the States of Genocide Toolkit. Access the toolkit and register for the webinar here.