Opinion: With one bill, then another, Legislature seeks to limit ethnic studies controversy

High school students at the Logan Memorial Educational Campus walk past a board illustrating their school facilities Photo by Chris Stone Times of San Diego When legislators embraced Assembly Bill the infamous law requiring high school students in the class of - to take a unit in ethnic studies to graduate let s assume their hearts were in the right place and that it was a joint effort to rectify the omission in history lessons that related the struggles and achievements of the four ethnic groups traditionally associated with ethnic studies Black- Native- Latine- and Asian-Americans That vote and passage of AB happened in Since then school districts attempts to create a curriculum that placates all points of view amidst heated argument have been maddening to watch Because the state s approved model curriculum at a hefty pages is only a model with a vague menu of options and is devoid of rigorous content standards a few material in circulation can be described as discriminatory against certain ethnicities particularly Jews and focuses on an ideological framework that sorts people and nations into two binary categories of oppressed or oppressor This so-called liberated version of the model curriculum is based on the state s first draft curriculum that was soundly rejected for its inappropriate content but yet is widely used throughout the state The liberated model connects students to resistance movements that fight for social justice teaches about systems of power and defines groups of people as part of a privileged class So despite a feel-good idea about passing a bill that would unite students of all ethnicities in mutual respect AB has been perverted from its original mission by bad actors who have taken advantage of the state s lack of formalized standards to insert bias and ideological extremism including what various say are anti-American lessons into ethnic studies Political ideology Conclusively waking up to reality and realizing how the original intent of the AB mandate has been too easily contaminated with controversial frameworks that seek to indoctrinate students into particular political points of view numerous legislators in Sacramento after first endorsing AB became alarmed over what they ve seen particularly the inclusion of stereotypical antisemitic material So earlier this year with great fanfare Assembly Bill was introduced Written by Assembly members Dawn Addis and Rick Chavez Zbur and Senator Josh Becker the bill was co-authored by legislators and championed by the California Legislative Jewish Caucus and the Jewish Residents Affairs Committee of California JPAC AB focused exclusively on the ethnic studies mandate and established comprehensive state standards required curriculum oversight at the state level provided lesson plans for professional progress enforced existing safeguards against discrimination ensured contractor accountability and authorized other reviews and recommendations Miller Saltzman JPAC s director of strategy and partnerships revealed in an April email that passage of AB would ensure that ethnic studies is implemented with accuracy and integrity and without bias in California s schools Supporters were demanded to participate in a summit in Sacramento held May and to learn about the bill and lobby legislators for backing But within days after the summit AB was suddenly dropped and replaced with a new bill Assembly Bill An announcement from JPAC executive director David Bocarsly May noted that AB became the largest part widely supported Jewish community-backed bill in California history with Jewish organizations united in sponsorship Nevertheless Bocarsly commented the decision was made to withdraw AB due to insufficient help for passage and because antisemitism was present across the K- school system not just in ethnic studies Thus introducing AB The pivot Objections to AB came not only from the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Coalition which claimed passage would stifle free speech rights as if teachers have an inherent right to present controversial and one-sided political points of view Other groups were also opposed claiming the bill narrowed the coursework to include only the four historically cited ethnic groups thus limiting the ability of individual districts to provide lessons on other ethnicities Another complaint about AB was that it reaffirmed the legitimacy of AB s mandate to make a lesson in ethnic studies a high school graduation requirement which certain are challenging Although it certainly looked like backtracking Bocarsly called it a pivot and not a retreat writing that AB is a more powerful step forward with broader protections deep accountability and diverse advocacy AB he wrote strengthens anti-discrimination protections based on religion and nationality increases accountability for districts uncovered engaging in discrimination and creates an antisemitism coordinator to oversee compliance AB expands the definition of nationality beyond citizenship and country and national origin to include a person s actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics or residency in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity The bill also states that racial ethnic or ancestral slurs or stereotypes would constitute discrimination on the basis of nationality The bill seeks to define discrimination based on religion to include but not be limited to antisemitism and Islamophobia Groups opposing the bill include the falsely named Jewish Voice for Peace the Council on American Islamic Relations and supporters of the liberated ethnic studies material AB is supported by the chairs of the Jewish Black Latino and Asian American Pacific Islander caucuses and passed the state s Assembly Learning Committee on May with a unanimous bipartisan - vote at a three-hour hearing The bill made further advances when it passed California s Assembly Appropriations Committee with a unanimous - vote according to a JPAC May news release And an announcement by Bocarsly May stated that AB just passed the state assembly with a bipartisan - vote AB now moves to the state senate where a vote by the Senate Tuition Committee is expected by mid-July Damage done Although a complete repeal of the disastrous AB is the obvious fix to undo this mess that state lawmakers created reality is that ethnic studies is likely here to stay What form it will take depends entirely on individual districts For now a clause in AB stating that the bill is operative only upon an appropriation of funds from the state estimated to be million which was not included in the governor s latest budget for - means that districts are technically not required to offer the class as yet However a great deal of money and materials have been expended by school districts working to meet the bill s requirement which could be funded at a future date leaving open the question of implementation The confusion in Sacramento over this mandate is exemplified by the struggle for legislators to resolve the inherent problems with the ethnic studies mandate Recognizing the difficulty by advancing AB is a accomplishable cure to the harm and ill-will AB has generated But how to combat or at least limit the damage will continue to be a source of debate Marsha Sutton is an teaching writer and opinion columnist and can be reached at suttonmarsha gmail com