Institutionalizing Ethnic Studies into SFUSD
Origin: San Francisco Unified School District
Link: Click here
Summary: Passed unanimously at the end of 2014, this resolution provides every high school student in SFUSD with
the opportunity to enroll in an Ethnic Studies class by the school year 2015-2016. In addition to expanding the class
offering to all high school students, the Board resolution encourages district middle schools to infuse multiethnic
and multicultural material throughout the 6th-8th grade curricula and to further explore institutionalizing Ethic
Studies coursework as a graduation requirement in the future.
Talking Points & Important Information:
• Historically, Ethnic Studies emerged from social movements in the 1960s as students, educators, and scholars
of color pressed school districts, universities, and textbook companies to produce and offer curricula that reflect
the diversity and complexity of the United States population. In line with movements of the time, particularly
the civil rights movements in the United States and liberation movements in the Third World, the push for an
anti-racist, multicultural curricular reform was guided by a demand for the inclusion of histories and paradigms
focused on the evolving issues of race, cultural, power, and identity.
• The educational purpose of Ethnic Studies is three-fold: 1) to provide students with opportunities to receive
quality education and urge educational institutions to open their doors to more students of color; 2) to define
“quality education” as one that is relevant and directly connected to the marginalized experiences of students
of color; and 3) to serve as a bridge between formal educational spaces to community involved, advocacy,
organizing, and activism.
• Our partners at the National Education Association pulled together this report on the academic and social value
of Ethnic Studies. For additional resources on integra ѥ