Since the state legislature ed Assembly Bill 101 in 2021 which mandated that students in the class of 2029-2030 take a class in ethnic studies to graduate high school, North County school districts are at various stages of meeting the requirement.
Although the primary focus here is to discuss ethnic studies progress locally, San Dieguito Union High School District’s unresponsiveness has become part of the story.
Since last February, and as presented in my March 13 column, I’ve asked SDUHSD’s Associate Superintendent of Educational Services Bryan Marcus questions about the proposed implementation of an ethnic studies course, but have been repeatedly stymied.
The internal policy seems to be to delay, defer, distract … and ultimately deny.
The district’s communications coordinator, Edwin Mendoza, occasionally responds but he rarely answers my questions (which really he can’t because they need to be answered directly by Marcus who has made himself unavailable).
Or he offers a distraction by referring me to the district’s FAQ page which provides no clear answers. Or he simply answers a different question than the one I’m asking.
Thinking I finally got Marcus’ attention with my latest round of basically the same questions I’ve been asking for months, Marcus wrote me this on Friday, May 29: “As this is the last week of school for SDUHSD, our team is currently focused on student graduation and preparing for summer school. I will get back to you with my responses by Monday. Thank you for your understanding.”
Although skeptical, given past experience, I agreed to wait, with his personal assurance that he would respond.
At 4:45 p.m., Mendoza, not Marcus, sent an email that was insulting at best, evasive at worst. Wearing me down seems to be the tactic.
Let’s dig in. (Questions and responses are adapted for brevity, clarity and to include background as needed.)
Questions
Q: For background, in a presentation to the board a few months ago, Marcus said the district partially funded its ethnic studies work with $165,000 for the 2025-2026 school year and $52,300 in prior years with money from the state’s Learning Recovery Emergency Block Grant – for a total to date of $217,300.
The purpose of the LREBG money, according to the state’s department of education, is “for learning recovery initiatives that academic learning recovery, and staff and pupil social and emotional well-being.”
So how is it that the LREBG funds are being used to develop ethnic studies course material and for professional development?
Mendoza’s response: “Learning Recovery Block Grant (LREBG) funds allow teachers and staff continued opportunities to collect student and teacher to be utilized for ongoing course refinement, professional development, and ensuring accessibility for all SDUHSD students.”
Doesn’t explain how ethnic studies is related to the learning recovery grant conditions.
Q: How much will it cost to implement ethnic studies annually in years 2026-2027 and beyond?
No answer.
Q: Because the district has chosen to embed ethnic studies into ninth-grade English classes, how would staff provide the required ethnic studies course for students who transfer into the district in 10th, 11th or 12th grades?
Mendoza’s response: “We will continue with further development of options for students who transfer into the district in 10th, 11th, or 12th grades.”
He could just say they don’t know yet.
Q: Why not a stand-alone class which would resolve the question of transfer students? And why ninth-grade?
For background, most believe that students need a foundational understanding of American history and world history as a prerequisite to understanding the comprehensive ethnic studies course material, and ninth-graders have taken neither subject.
Mendoza’s response: “In the fall 2023, SDUHSD convened a committee of educators who reviewed models … and based on the overall review and information gathered, the model chosen was English 9 with Ethnic Studies and English 9 Honors with Ethnic Studies.”
The ninth-grade English decision remains baffling.
Then there’s this:
Q: Part of AB 101 states that “the bill would prohibit a course that does not use ethnic studies content as the primary content through which the subject is taught from being used to satisfy the ethnic studies course requirement.”
Does this mean that English 9 with ethnic studies must have ethnic studies as the primary content, or else it doesn’t qualify as fulfilling the requirement?
If ethnic studies is deemed the primary content in English 9 classes, what about actually teaching English? Does that critical framework become compromised with the infusion of ethnic studies as the primary content?
Mendoza’s response: “Since this is an English course, primary content is determined by the CA English Language Arts (ELA) Standards/Framework (state level) … All of the English 9/9H Ethnic Studies Units and Lessons are aligned to the English State Standards/Framework.”
My reply: Your English classes may meet state and UC/CSU requirements but that’s not what I asked. I asked if embedding ethnic studies into English 9 meets the ethnic studies requirements as outlined by AB 101.
In other words, is what you’ve designed able to meet both the state’s and UC/CSU issions requirements AND meet the requirements of AB 101 that ethnic studies be the SOLE primary content in the course? How can it fulfill both?
No response.
As an aside, at the May 21 Carlsbad Unified School District board meeting during a presentation on the district’s ethnic studies progress, director of secondary education Bryan Brockett rejected the idea of integrating ethnic studies into other coursework because the primary focus would need to be on ethnic studies.
So CUSD plans to offer a stand-alone class that meets the law’s requirements, as opposed to an integrated class that may not.
More questions
Q: There seems to be a discrepancy with the numbers of students at La Costa Canyon High School who want to take English 9 Honors with ethnic studies – is it 18 or 28?
For background, two different charts with these initial enrollment numbers were made available to the general public back in April.
This was a softball, and no answer was provided. It was really no big deal, just a discrepancy of 10 students. I just wanted to know which was the typographical error. At this point it’s a non-issue because student choices fluctuate. So why not just answer what the correct number was back then?
Q: Combining two questions, I asked how staff will be assigned to teach ninth-grade English with/without the embedded ethnic studies component, given a seeming lack of interest at LCC and Torrey Pines High School and a smattering of interest at the other two district high schools.
Mendoza’s response: “As our student enrollment process is ongoing through summer, specific enrollment numbers will continue to be evaluated.”
I’ll give them this one and assume it can’t be answered without final numbers on class choices.
Q: Since it appears there will be no funding from the state for ethnic studies for 2025-2026, and possibly for the following year as well, have any decisions been made about keeping the class optional?
For background, despite the reassurances that SDUHSD Superintendent Anne Staffieri provided at the February board meeting that funding is expected in some form based on “considerable ” in the legislature, no funding is expected for the 2025-2026 school year. This means it’s technically not a requirement for graduation.
Furthermore, common wisdom suggests that the governor has little appetite to allocate the estimated $276 million cost for ethnic studies for at least the following year as well.
Mendoza’s response: “While the state budget and the future of the ethnic studies mandate are still pending legislative approval, we are moving forward with our plan to pilot the Ethnic Studies course in the 2025-26 school year across four high schools.”
A non-answer.
It’s unclear what the strategy is at San Dieguito to keep information from the public in such a glaring way, but it’s most certainly not taxpayer or media friendly.
Carlsbad
At Carlsbad Unified’s May 21 school board meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services Robert Nye and Director of Secondary Education Brockett presented an update on the district’s ethnic studies progress.
The district is proposing an ethnic studies elective course to offer this fall that at this point is not required for graduation.
Brockett did note, however, that AB 101’s trigger clause – that the mandate is only operative upon state funding – means that “districts need to be prepared for any eventuality.”
For the state to a law in 2021 requiring districts to develop an ethnic studies course by 2025, but then not fund it as legally required, puts districts in an impossible bind by forcing them to spend four years and oodles of time and money to fulfill a mandate that is actually not presently mandated.
CUSD’s proposal is for a year-long course, said Brockett explaining that the subject matter is “too complicated for just a one-semester course.”
And it will be a stand-alone class open to students of all grade levels. “Ninth grade is challenging because students don’t have the historical perspective” needed yet, Brockett said. (Compare this with San Dieguito’s decision.)
Brockett outlined two components to the material: teach the history of historically marginalized ethnic groups and provide an action piece for students to explore their personal identities.
Unit 1 focuses on identity – both one’s own and others’, and Unit 2 discusses migration and movement.
Units 3 and 4 – Systems of Power and Access and Activism, respectively – are more controversial, as students learn about structures of inequality, systems shaping our society and how to challenge injustice.
Safe and welcoming
The core approach, Brockett said, is to create “a safe and welcoming environment,” understanding that the subject matter can generate “difficult conversations that have the potential to create conflict.” Civil discourse, listening skills and understanding others will be stressed.
Of the two high schools, Sage Creek had 44 interested students, so one section will be offered. But there was insufficient interest at Carlsbad High School.
CUSD is following the strict guidelines outlined in the bill that require a public review of the proposed course material (done at the May 21 meeting) and then a second public meeting, to be held June 18, for the school board to approve (or not).
In public comment, Scott Davison, director of the Carlsbad Education Alliance, shared concerns about potential indoctrination, the injection of particular political points of view and how to effectively monitor what teachers actually teach.
He asked for a delay until the course can be rewritten “to provide balanced viewpoints and eliminate the inherent bias and discrimination.”
Trustee Gretchen Vurbeff asked about instructional materials, and Brockett replied that few textbook options are available so the course will rely primarily on supplemental material.
She questioned how to standardize lessons if each teacher is able to use different material.
The fact that the state provides no state standards nor a list of approved instructional materials, as other required courses have, leaves districts searching on their own for suitable material.
This is where it gets tricky, with inappropriate content too easily included.
Oceanside and Poway
Donald Bendz, Oceanside Unified School District’s director of communications, said OUSD has offered an ethnic studies stand-alone course as an elective since for 2020-2021 school year, and the school board approved the course as a graduation requirement starting with the class of 2026 – next year’s seniors.
The district’s graduation requirement is sooner than the state’s “since we have had the class since 2020-21,” he said, so OUSD will proceed with its current path.
Superintendent Ben Churchill said Poway Unified School District has been offering a stand-alone ethnic studies class since the 2021-2022 school year. He said it is only an elective at this point, with no changes for graduation requirements.
Comparing San Dieguito’s struggles with transparency to neighboring districts is striking.
At Carlsbad, Bryan Marcus’s counterpart Robert Nye replies directly and succinctly within days. At Oceanside, communications director Bendz responded within a day and answered each question clearly. And in Poway, I received responses directly from the superintendent.
The topic is intensely controversial, and taxpayers, parents and students have a right to know how their schools will be presenting ethnic studies – in a clear and timely manner.
Marsha Sutton is an education writer and opinion columnist and can be reached at [email protected].
Marsha Sutton is a columnist and presents her opinion. Column: Combines reporting, storytelling and commentary to make a point. Unlike reporters, columnists are allowed to include their opinions.
