To keep a left-wing ethnic studies curricula "under the radar," education officials proposed scheduling board meetings on Jewish holidays to prevent Jewish critics from attending, according to supporting evidence added to a suit against Santa Ana Unified School District.
The Brandeis Center and other Jewish groups filed suit last year against SAUSD, a nearly all Hispanic district in Southern California, charging violations of California’s open meetings laws.
According to the motion, a leader of the Ethnic Studies Steering Committee called the only Jewish member a “colonized Jewish mind” and a “f---ing baby” for expressing concerns about anti-Semitism in the curriculum.
An SAUSD Board member suggested that Jewish Americans do not belong in ethnic studies because they are “racialized as under the White category.”
A Committee leader referred to the Jewish Federation of Orange County as “racist Zionists” and suggested SAUSD should not “cave” to their representatives.
Members of the Steering Committee reportedly said, “Jews are not a disadvantaged ethnic group in the U.S. because they were never slaves,” that “Jews greatly benefit from white privilege, so they have it better,” and “we don't need to give both sides. We only support the oppressed, and Jews are the oppressors.”
California school districts must offer an ethnic studies class by 2025-26 and make it a graduation requirement by 2030-31. The law requires publicizing the proposed curricula and allowing public comment.
The state rejected a proposed "liberated" ethnic studies curriculum that was overtly anti-Zionist and anti-capitalist. Eventually, a less controversial "model curriculum" was adopted, but districts aren't required to follow it. As John Fensterwald explains on EdSource, Santa Ana and other districts, including San Diego, Oakland and Berkeley, have signed contracts with "liberated" consultants, including the group that wrote the curriculum rejected for bias.
Jewish legislators hoped to put anti-bias "guard rails" on ethnic studies, but the California Teachers Association, allied with college ethnic studies professors, has blocked legislation, reports Fensterwald.
The 2021 ethnic studies law said that materials and instruction should “not reflect or promote, directly or indirectly, any bias, bigotry, or discrimination against any person or group of persons.”
Teaching that Israel is an oppressive settler colonialist nation is "creating classrooms that Jewish students are not experiencing as safe, inclusive, or affirming,” Assemblywoman Dawn Addis said at an Aug. 5 hearing of a Senate committee.
The SAUSD web site defines ethnic studies as "the study of U.S. history through the perspective of people of color, specifically Black, Asian Pacific Islander Americans, Chicano/a/Latinx, and Native Americans." Students are supposed to learn how to "analyze oppressive structures and systems" and use their voices to "challenge and dismantle the many forms of racism that exist today."
There are plans -- or hopes -- to integrate ethnic studies into language, math, science, arts and other classes. What would that mean in math or science? Let's hope nothing.
Ninety-six percent of Santa Ana students are Hispanic. I assume there'd be a lot of interest in a well-designed Chicano Studies elective. But I don't think Santa Ana students and their parents care about Israel or Gaza. Imagine a Mexican immigrant mother whose oldest child is struggling to pass community college classes so she can be a dental hygienist. She wants schools to prepare her children for success in America, not tell them they have to "free Palestine" first.
The cultural illiteracy in the statement "Jews were never slaves" is astounding.
There is unlikely to be a single ethnic group in the history of the world that were never targeted for slavery. The ideologues seeking to enforce their goals on the students through this program are either: dangerously ignorant, malicious or both.
I've practiced special education law (representing students against public school districts) in SoCal for going on 23 years. There is such hypocrisy about all of this. There are 5 groups districts will deny services to first: single parents, poor parents, ESL, minorities, and recent immigrants. My working theory is the districts figure the first two groups won't have the time/money to fight and the latter 3 will just do whatever the government tells them. These programs aren't about race or culture. They're about political indoctrination to develop good little footsoldiers.
I recommend Californians continue withdrawing their children from state schools until this requirement is revoked; a model social studies curriculum may well include an ethnic studies unit, but should avoid the divisive Marxism inspiring these "liberators", who typically enslave those they take over, witness Venezuela.
While I support running education at the district level with direction from the state, some districts clearly need to be plowed under and the earth salted. sigh