Contra Costa County Office of Education

Ethnic Studies

Bay Area Regional Ethnic Studies (BARES)

The Contra Costa County Office of Education has partnered with nine Bay Area counties to provide support for Ethnic Studies as a Community of Practice. Dates for the 25-26 school year are:

August 14th: In person Kick Off event, 9:00-3:30, CCCOE
October 16, 3:30-5:00 (virtual)
December 11, 3:30-5:00 (virtual)
February 5, 3:30-5:00 (virtual)
April 16, 3:30-5:00 (virtual)
June 18, full day in person, location TBD

Registration: https://sccoe.to/BARESCoP

This network is offered free of cost and is open to current Ethnic Studies teachers or LEA Ed Services Leadership and High School Administrators in the nine Bay Area counties represented.

Please contact Kristy Warren (KWarren@cccoe.k12.ca.us), Director of Curriculum and Instruction, for more information.

Information

Background

Legislation signed by Governor Brown in 2016 required California’s State Board of Education to adopt a model curriculum for Ethnic Studies. Assembly Bill 101, signed by Governor Newsom in 2021 added completion of a one-semester ethnic studies course as a public high school graduation requirement by the 2029-30 school year. To meet this requirement, LEAs serving high school students must develop and implement a course by the 2025-26 school year.

In March of 2021, the State Board of Education approved a model curriculum for high schools which centers on the contributions of historically underrepresented groups, such as Native Americans, African Americans, Latino Americans and Asian Americans. The State Board’s model curriculum itself isn’t required to be adopted by districts. Rather, the board-approved curriculum was created to serve as example coursework for districts to use should they opt to create their own local ethnic studies coursework.

More details from the California Department of Education regarding the State Board’s Ethnic Studies guidance for high schools are available here: CDE News Release.

What is Ethnic Studies

The History Social-Science Framework for California Schools defines Ethnic Studies as “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.” With this in mind, “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 systems that continue to perpetuate inequality.” By affirming the contributions and struggles of all groups, all students can better value themselves and others as part of the rich tapestry and story of our nation.

Model Curriculum

“The Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum serves as a guide to school districts that would like to either develop and implement a stand-alone course or integrate the concepts and principles of ethnic studies into current social science or English Language Arts courses” (Model Curriculum, Chapter 1, p. 20). It was adopted by the State Board of Education on March 18, 2021 and is available to LEAs free of cost.

Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum – Whole Document

Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum PDF (7.5MB)
(Note: this is a large file, allow time to load or save the file to your computer before opening.)

Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum – By Chapter

Adoption Toolkit

The purpose of the Ethnic Studies Adoption Toolkit is to provide school districts with a process for developing, adopting, and/or integrating high quality ethnic studies programming, based on the guidelines of the state adopted Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum in order to meet the high school graduation requirement now mandated through Assembly Bill 101 and the updated California Education Code. (The Ethnic Studies Adoption Toolkit was created by the Los Angeles County Office of Education.)

May 2025 Update

As of the May 2025 budget revision, the future of California’s Ethnic Studies graduation requirement remains uncertain. Although Assembly Bill 101 (AB 101), passed in 2021, aimed to make a one-semester Ethnic Studies course mandatory for high school graduation starting with the Class of 2030, this mandate was contingent on state funding.

The revised 2025–26 budget did not allocate funds to implement AB 101. As a result, neither the requirement for schools to offer Ethnic Studies courses starting in 2025–26 nor the graduation requirement for 2030 is currently in effect.

This has left many districts, which had already begun preparing curriculum and training staff, in a state of uncertainty. Districts are encouraged to continue developing Ethnic Studies programs that reflect their local communities' needs, especially since some have already adopted the course as a local graduation requirement.

We will continue to monitor updates from the CDE and state legislature and provide timely information as it becomes available.

Professional Learning

Bay Area Regional Ethnic Studies Collaborative Asynchronous Course

Course URL: https://cccoe.instructure.com/courses/282
Audience: Ethnic Studies Educators
Cost: Free
Credit Option: Up to 2 continuing education units are available through the University of the Pacific (details are in the course)

Bay area Regional ethnic studies collaborative asynchronous course

Bay Area Regional Ethnic Studies Collaborative Asynchronous Course

Course URL: https://cccoe.instructure.com/courses/282
Audience: Ethnic Studies Educators
Cost: Free
Credit Option: Up to 2 continuing education units are available through University of the Pacific (details are in the course)