California parents freak out over new 'ethnic studies' high school course.

Parents of students at Palo Alto Public High School are raising concerns about the school's secrecy regarding a new required ethnic studies course.

Parents cite concerns about the district's lack of transparency in creating the course, which will be available in the 2024-2025 school year and mandatory the following year, for fear it could contain politically biased and divisive topics. seconds in the San Francisco Chronicle. Parents say they have received little information about course content and the district has answered some of their questions.

“It sure would help if we as parents could see the curriculum,” said Alan Crystal, parent of an incoming senior in the Palo Alto School District, according to the Chronicle. “A lot of what we want is just to see what's being proposed and see the curriculum.”

Many parents fear the new course will contain politically biased content and create a classroom divide, pointing to a similar project at the University of California Berkeley that focuses on racial oppression and talks about Black Lives Matter. you protest against the police, according to the Chronicle. Parents pointed to the district's apparent partnership with Berkeley in creating the program, but the district denies claims the course will contain similar content, saying it is taking an “inclusive” approach to the course.

According to the Chronicle, a petition proposed by the Palo Alto Parent Alliance garnered 1,400 signatures calling for the school district to be more transparent about the course and allow for parent input. The group said they support the ethnic studies program but are upset by the district's secrecy.

“We are not against ethnic studies,” said Sarith Honigstein, a member of the Palo Alto Parent Alliance, according to the Chronicle. “Our problem is with a non-transparent release.”

California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, implemented a statewide agreement mandate on ethnic studies courses as a high school graduation requirement in 2021, requiring schools to develop courses beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. The sample course outline contains themes like Black Lives Matter, equity and systemic racism.

In 2021, Tennessee passed a law forbidding teaching Critical Race Theory in all K-12 schools, avoiding divisive racial issues in the classroom. In the same year, the Florida Department of Education rejected the College Board's AP African American Studies course for lacking “educational value and historical accuracy.”

Newsom's office and the Palo Alto school district did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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