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Podcast: Commonwealth Club of California Podcast
Episode: Californiaâs Ethnic Studies Controversy: Launch of a Curricular Alternative
Description: âEthnic studiesâ is an ideological battleground in higher education, and now California is bringing its 1.6 million high school students into the fray. Every one of them must take an ethnic studies course to graduate, starting in the fall of 2025.But what will the course teach them? The State Department of Educationâs original model curriculumânow candidly dubbed the âLiberated Ethnic Studies Curriculumââwas criticized for its anti-capitalist agenda, embrace of critical-race themes, and alleged antisemitism. Reaction was so intense that Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the original curricular mandate legislation. A second State Model Curriculum ton...