Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Guidelines

The following guidelines are based on requirements in the authorizing statute (Assembly Bill 2016, Chapter 327 of the Statutes of 2016), feedback collected from the public at the Webinar held on January 9, 2018, and other public comment.

These guidelines, approved by the State Board of Education (SBE) at its meeting on July 11–12, 2018, will direct the work of the contracted primary writer(s) and the Model Curriculum Advisory Committee when it convenes in February–April 2019 to create a first draft of the curriculum. The model curriculum will undergo a public review and editing by the Instructional Quality Commission prior to being recommended to the SBE.

1. Statutory Requirements
   
   The Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum must reflect the requirements in the authorizing statute as well as other legal requirements for curriculum in California. These include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following topics:
   
   
   • The model curriculum shall be written as a guide to allow school districts to adapt their courses to reflect the pupil demographics in their communities.
     
     
   • The model curriculum shall include examples of courses offered by local educational agencies that have been approved as meeting the A–G admissions requirements of the University of California and the California State University, including, to the extent possible, course outlines for those courses.
     
     
   • The model curriculum must meet federal accessibility requirements pursuant to Section 508 of the United States Workforce Rehabilitation Act. Content that cannot be made accessible may not be included in the document.
     
     
2. General principles. The Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum shall:
   
   
   • Include accurate information based on current and confirmed research;
     
     
   • When appropriate, be consistent with the content and instructional shifts in the 2016 History–Social Science Framework, in particular the emphasis upon student-based inquiry in instruction;
     
     
   • Promote the values of civic engagement and civic responsibility;
     
     
   • Align to the Literacy Standards for History–Social Studies within the California Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History–Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects, as appropriate;
     
     
   • Promote self and collective empowerment;
     
     
   • Be written in language that is inclusive and supportive of multiple users, including teachers (single and multiple-subject), support staff, administrators, and the community;
     
     
   • Encourage cultural understanding of how different groups have struggled and worked together, highlighting core ethnic studies concepts such as equality, justice, race, ethnicity, indigeneity, etc.;
     
     
   • Include information on the ethnic studies movement, specifically the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF), and its significance in the establishment of ethnic studies as a discipline and work in promoting diversity and inclusion within higher education;
     
     
   • Promote critical thinking and rigorous analysis of history, systems of oppression, and the status quo in an effort to generate discussions on futurity, and imagine new possibilities.
     
     
3. Course Outlines. The Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum shall:
   
   
   • Include course outlines that offer a thematic approach to ethnic studies with concepts that provide space for educators to build in examples and case studies from diverse backgrounds;
     
     
   • Include course outlines that allow for ethnic studies to be taught as a stand-alone elective or integrated into an existing course (e.g., sociology, English language arts, and history);
     
     
   • Include course outlines that allow for local, state-specific, national, and global inquiry into ethnic studies;
     
     
   • Have the capability to engage multiple languages and genealogies;
     
     
   • Engage a range of disciplines beyond traditional history and social sciences, including but not limited to: visual and performing arts, English language arts, economics, biology, gender & sexuality studies, etc.
     
     
4. Audience. The Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum shall:
   
   
   • Be sensitive to the needs of all grade levels and incorporated disciplines, providing balance and guidance to the field;
     
     
   • Engage pedagogies that allow for student and community responsiveness, validate students’ lived experience, and address socioemotional development;
     
     
   • Be inclusive, creating space for all students regardless of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, or citizenship, to learn different perspectives.
     
     
5. Administrative and Teacher Support. The Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum shall:
   
   
   • Be easy to use both for teachers with educational backgrounds in ethnic studies, and those without such experience;
     
     
   • Provide resources on professional development opportunities;
     
     
   • Provide information for district and school administrators to support the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum and instruction;
     
     
   • Provide examples of different methods of instruction and pedagogical approaches;
     
     
   • Provide support for a collaborative teaching model that encourages teachers to work with colleagues across disciplines, further highlighting the interdisciplinarity of ethnic studies;
     
     
   • Provide support for the use of technology and multimedia resources during instruction;
     
     
   • Include access to resources for instruction (e.g., lesson plans, curricula, primary source documents, and other resources) that are currently being used by districts.