Legal Guidelines

California Legal Guidelines for Ethnic Studies

Requirement Is Paused Until Funded

Since the proposed California 2026 budget does not include funding for Ethnic Studies, AB 101, the law mandating the subject, is not yet operational, and the subject is not yet a state graduation requirement. The removal of time pressure provides an opportunity for school districts that do want to implement Ethnic Studies, to do so in the thoughtful and intentional manner the subject and students deserve

Avoiding Politicized Ethnic Studies

There are a series of California state laws and local district policies that govern Ethnic Studies and K-12 curricula, which aim to prevent biased and politically motivated material that can infuse some Ethnic Studies courses. Considering the controversy surrounding the implementation of Ethnic Studies and training of Ethnic Studies educators, it is important to understand state laws and statements from state elected officials.

Concerned about the politicization of some Ethnic Studies curricula, the California Department of Justice released a 2024 legal alert that states:

“...schools must always strive to present factual and unbiased information whether discussing communities or countries. (See Ed. Code, §§ 201, 220, 51501, 60044.)” 

The legal alert further notes:

“Under the California Constitution … local education agency curricular decisions must be based on legitimate pedagogical purposes, and not an attempt to ‘prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion’ or because of mere ideological opposition”

Qualifying Courses

Once funded, AB 101 requires a one-semester course that primarily focuses on the diversity of California and the United States, promoting understanding and respect for various cultures, identities, and histories. 

In addition to survey Ethnic Studies courses, courses in History, Literature, or the Arts can satisfy this requirement. There is no requirement for a stand-alone, survey Ethnic Studies course.

Legislature’s Guardrails Against Bias

Following the first draft of the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, created by the activists that founded Liberated Ethnic Studies, Governor Newsom stated it should "never see the light of day.” To ensure that the governor’s and legislature’s intent is followed, the California legislature included specific “guardrails” in Assembly Bill 101. 

The California legislature provided a series of "guardrails" for Ethnic Studies implementation. Concerned about potential bias in ES courses, the legislature wanted to prevent rejected material from early, politicized (Liberated-based) drafts of the ESMC from ending up in the classroom. This legislation clearly states its legislative intent that school districts not adopt the content that was rejected from the Model Curriculum’s earlier drafts. 

According to AB 101, locally developed curriculum:

  1. Will be presented via a two-step community review of the curriculum before it is adopted by a district.

  2. Any curriculum must be appropriate for all students of different “races, religions, nationalities, genders, sexual orientations, and diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, pupils with disabilities, and English learners”

  3. A curriculum cannot use rejected portions of the initial draft model curriculum “due to concerns related to bias, bigotry, and discrimination.” 

California Education Codes and Policies

All curricula must conform with California Education Codes, including:

California Code, Education Code - EDC § 49091.12: “(a) A pupil may not be compelled to affirm or disavow any particular personally or privately held world view, religious doctrine, or political opinion.”

Additionally, most school districts have policies and regulations regarding the teaching of controversial issues in the classroom. This includes Board Policy 6144: Controversial Issues, which governs how teachers address controversial issues in their classrooms. While specific wording may vary, all Board Policy 6144 include the following guardrails around these topics:

  • All sides of a controversial issue are impartially presented.

  • Without promoting any partisan or personal point of view, the teacher should help students separate fact from opinion and warn them against drawing conclusions from insufficient data.