Introduction

This is a conceptual paper explicating the actions taken by scholar-activists at the grass roots, shaping education reform to alter the K-12 curriculum in public schools in the United States. Scholar-activists have been instrumental to each stage of the reform process by working with racially marginalized communities, K-12 educators, school district officials, and state policy-makers to integrate Ethnic Studies curricula into public schools across the United States. In the state of California, these multidimensional efforts have resulted in the passing of a state referendum (AB2016) to install Ethnic Studies curricula into K-12 schools. As local communities advocate for reforms in education policy and school practices across the global spectrum of public education, it is imperative for scholars to share their work with international communities so that we may glean a better understanding of the intricacies of conducting work outside of traditional university spaces that visibly impacts the education experiences of families who access public education.

 Background of the Reform

Ethnic Studies is an interdisciplinary study of the lived experiences of racially marginalized communities in the U.S., and how these oppressed populations have engaged in and experienced building what is now the United States of America.  Ethnic Studies as a focus for primary and secondary curricula began in Tucson, Arizona when several secondary schools began offering courses focused on the histories and contributions of racial minority groups in U.S. history.

 In 2008 in California, the San Francisco Unified School District, in collaboration with San Francisco State University, piloted an Ethnic Studies program across five secondary schools in communities with high proportions of racially and ethnically diverse students. In 2013, a coalition of educators and community activist across California calling itself Ethnic Studies NOW, lead the charge to compel other districts and eventually the state government to support Ethnic Studies across the state.

In 2015, the Board of Education of the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) approved a resolution creating an Ethnic Studies Advisory Committee to develop recommendations for curricular changes and an implementation plan for K-12 classrooms. On September 13, 2016, Governor Brown of California signed a bill that requires the state to develop a model Ethnic Studies curriculum for high schools and encourages school district and charter schools to offer courses by the 2020–2021 school year. The reform efforts will extend to higher education institutions that are responsible for teacher credential programs. At all levels of education, the resolution will require new curricular materials, professional development for teachers, areas for teacher credentialing, and collaboration among various stake-holders.

Theoretical Framework

Critical race theory (CRT) was established in legal studies to analyze enactments of state law, legislation, and constitutional rulings through the lenses of race and racism (Crenshaw, 1988). Education scholars looking for an analytic tool to examine racialized aspects of education policy and law gravitated towards CRT in the mid-nineties (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). Critical race theory applied in education helps deconstruct and explain how race and racism historically and presently shape law, education policies at all levels, and school and classroom practices. Critical race theorists believe that racism is entrenched in the U.S. in multifaceted ways that continue to marginalize racial minority communities and prevent them from acquiring racial justice in education, i.e.:  equitable access to systems of public education. 

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