San Ramon Valley Unified School District

Ethnic Studies

Assembly Bill (AB) 101 was approved by Governor Newsom on October 8, 2021. This bill adds the completion of an ethnic studies course as a high school graduation requirement, starting with students graduating in the 2029-30 school year. SRVUSD is currently developing an ethnic studies course based on the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, adopted by the California State Board of Education on March 18, 2021.

Standards & Framework

What is Ethnic Studies?

According to the History Social Science Framework, “Ethnic studies is an interdisciplinary field of study that encompasses many subject areas including history, literature, economics, sociology, anthropology, and political science. It emerged to both address content considered missing from traditional curriculum and to encourage critical engagement. As a field, ethnic studies seeks to empower all students to engage socially and politically and to think critically about the world around them. It is important for ethnic studies courses to document the experiences of people of color in order for students to construct counter-narratives and develop a more complex understanding of the human experience. Through these studies, students should develop respect for cultural diversity and see the advantages of inclusion. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of this field, ethnic studies courses may take several forms. However, central to any ethnic studies course is the historic struggle of communities of color, taking into account the intersectionality of identity (gender, class, sexuality, among others), to challenge racism, discrimination, and oppression and interrogate the systems that continue to perpetuate inequality”.