High school fights back against city over controversial new ethnic studies curriculum

The battle over ethnic studies in San Francisco classrooms just took another turn, this time in court.

A nonprofit advocacy group has filed a lawsuit against the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), claiming district leaders violated California’s open meeting laws when they approved a new ethnic studies curriculum that will become a graduation requirement for students, according to the SF Chronicle.

The lawsuit, filed by the Friends of Lowell Foundation, isn’t focused on what students will learn in the course. Instead, the organization argues the school board failed to properly inform the public that it would be voting on curriculum materials for a class that every high school student will eventually be required to take.

“This lawsuit is about process, because process is how the public keeps its schools accountable,” the organization said in a statement to SF Chronicle. “Parents were never told, in plain language, that the District was about to decide what every fourteen-year-old in this city would be taught.”

The Friends of Lowell Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for Lowell High School and merit-based academic programs, previously asked the district to reverse its decision through a formal demand letter. The school board declined to do so, prompting the group to take the matter to court.

The organization is asking a California Superior Court judge to throw out the board’s April 28 vote, arguing it violated the state’s Brown Act, which requires government agencies to clearly describe items being considered before public meetings.

According to SFUSD’s website the objective of the current 9th grade ethnic studies course is for “students [to] examine concepts such as identity, power, beliefs and change and apply their learning through interactive projects such as auto-ethnographies, youth podcasting and action research.”

The new year-long ethnic studies course in question would be required for students beginning with the Class of 2029.

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The lawsuit comes as ethnic studies continue to spark fierce debate across California. While supporters say the classes help students better understand diverse communities, cultures and historical injustices, critics argue some versions of the curriculum place too much emphasis on political activism.

The legal challenge has also ignited a heated conversation on social media, where commenters were quick to weigh in on both the curriculum and the lawsuit.

“Every student should take this class. It promotes inclusivity,” one user wrote. “My daughter took it and it was a great class, really helps them with critical thinking skills.”

Another commenter argued parents should leave curriculum decisions to educators.

“Parents should not be deciding on the curriculum. The professionals in this case is the school district,” the user wrote. “If every time a school district listened to ‘parent groups’ unhappiness it would take the kids twice the time to graduate. If you don’t like what’s going on, move or put your kids in private school.”

The online reaction underscores just how polarizing ethnic studies remains, even as more California school districts move toward making the course a graduation requirement. Now, the future of San Francisco Unified’s curriculum approval process will be decided in court.