Model Curriculum

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Consistent within the legislation of AB 2016, Sections 1 & 2, the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum will serve as a guide, not a mandate, for use within district instructional programs and will:

1. Offer support for the inclusion of ethnic studies as either a stand-alone elective, or integrated into existing history-social science and English language arts courses;
2. Be written in language that is inclusive and supportive to multiple users, including teachers (single and multiple-subject), support staff, administrators, and the community, and encourage cultural understanding of how different groups have struggled and worked together, highlighting core ethnic studies concepts such as equality, justice, race and racism, ethnicity and bigotry, indigeneity, etc.;
3. Shall be written as a guide to allow school districts to adapt their courses to reflect the pupil demographics in their communities 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;
4. Include course outlines that have been approved by the University of California and California State University as having met the “A-G” requirements for college readiness, in addition to sample lesson plans, curricula, primary source documents, pedagogical and professional development resources and tools, current research on the field, among other materials; and
5. Be developed with the guidance of classroom teachers, college/university ethnic studies faculty and experts, representatives from local educational agencies, and representation from native peoples of the land where any course is taught, and racial/ethnic populations referenced directly, where possible.¹

Ethnic Studies Features

The California Department of Education articulates in the Ethnic Studies Curriculum (pp. 12-20) the benefits, principles, values, and outcomes students will learn once they have completed an Ethnic Studies course.

• Benefits - cited research is used by the CDE to describe the benefits students receive while completing an ethnic studies course. (pp. 12-14).
• Values and Principles - humanization and critical consciousness, terms used by researchers, help develop the priorities and ideals within ethnic studies, (pp. 15-16).
• Outcomes - eight outcomes are outlined by the CDE for students taking an ethnic studies course. (pp. 16-20).²

1. Pupil instruction: ethnic studies, Cal. Assemb. B. 2016 (2015-2016), Chapter 327 (Cal. Stat. 2016)

2. California Department of Education (March, 2022). Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum