LCUSD Governing Board Candidates Speak Out on Ethnic Studies
As the mid-term election nears, candidates respond to a survey on Ethnic Studies
For those who haven’t been following the debate over Ethnic Studies, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill (AB) 101 last October that requires all California public school students graduating in 2030 and after to take at least one semester of Ethnic Studies to earn a high school diploma.
Prior to AB-101, the California legislature had tried multiple times to direct the state’s Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to develop a model curriculum in Ethnic Studies, and for the State Board of Education (SBE) to adopt it. The first draft of the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) was released in 2019 and was tremendously controversial. It was rejected outright and the IQC was directed to go back to the drawing board. After the ouster of the original creators of the first draft followed by several more drafts, the SBE approved and published an ESMC on March 18, 2021:
https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/esmc.asp
With the passage of AB-101, some public school districts have begun the work to seek out Ethnic Studies courses to use, or develop their own. La Canada Unified School District (LCUSD) chose the latter course and is off to an early start. La Canada High School (LCHS) Principal Jim Cartnal announced in Spring 2022 that the school had begun to look into developing its own Ethnic Studies course, and he put an advisory committee together consisting of him and teachers from the LCHS English department. Cartnal has announced that it will likely be a full-year and not just a one-semester class, that it will be offered within the English department, that the course will be required either in 9th or 12th grade, and that it is planned for launch in the 2023-24 school year. Other than Cartnal’s intermittent reports, no oversight has been provided by either the LCUSD Governing Board, or the district’s DEI Oversight Committee.
Concurrent with the effort of individual school districts shopping for off-the-shelf ethnic studies courses, state organizations such as the Alliance for Constructive Ethnic Studies (ACES) have started querying school districts to see how their Ethnic Studies efforts are proceeding forward. In September of this year ACES sent a survey to California school board candidates for the upcoming mid-term election asking them their thoughts on Ethnic Studies. The questionnaire is voluntary and only some school board candidates have responded to date. Candidate responses received thus far may be perused here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JypCtGaBSVyLBgguU8txs8k24UrybdbDrGEfq0D0fPQ/edit#gid=0
Click on the Questions tab to see the questions asked of all candidates. Click on the Responses tab to see the responses of school board candidates.
As of the original publication date of this article (i.e. Nov. 01, 2022), three of LCUSD’s four candidates have responded to the survey. Octavia Thuss has thus far not responded to the survey. Here are the responses of the other three LCUSD Governing Board candidates:
Joe Radabaugh:
Joe did not respond to survey questions, but sent the following email to ACES:
“I believe in local control when it comes to the adoption of any Ethic Studies curriculum. It’s important to me that our district adopts in a manner that takes into consideration our community’s circumstances and values. I believe in an approach that supports a range of perspectives and fosters critical thinking in the classroom.”
Dan Jeffries:
Dan also did not answer the questions on the survey, but sent the following email response to ACES:
“It is important to me that the ethnic studies course that our district approves be developed with the involvement of our community in a transparent manner and that we adopt an ethnic studies course and related professional development that is inclusive. Our ultimate goal is to promote and sustain positive school cultures where all students and staff feel welcome, safe, supported, and included on campus.”
Debra Barsom:
Debra responded to the entire ACES questionnaire. The ACES questions and her responses are below:
1. Ethnic Studies will be a graduation requirement starting with the class of 2030. There are various approaches to teaching this subject.
Constructive/Inclusive Ethnic Studies builds understanding and empathy, elevates ethnic groups without blaming or denigrating others, celebrates ethnic accomplishments and contributions, honestly addresses racism and discrimination, and presents a range of perspectives and approaches to bringing about change. This approach promotes inquiry, not ideological dogma, and fosters community, not divisiveness.
Liberated/Critical Ethnic Studies, aims to “critique empire and its relationship to white supremacy, racism, patriarchy, cisheteropatriarchy, capitalism, ableism, anthropocentrism, and other forms of power and oppression.” Couched in positive but often misleading language, this approach inculcates a particular ideology, which glorifies militant resistance, defines students based on skin color, promotes the BDS movement, and dismisses social justice leaders such as John Lewis and Martin Luther King, who don’t pass the narrow ideological litmus test.
(If you would like to learn more about Constructive and Liberated Ethnic Studies before answering question 1, this article could be helpful.)
◉ I support Constructive/Inclusive Ethnic Studies.
⭘ I support Liberated/Critical Ethnic Studies
⭘ I don’t think this is an important issue.
2. The first draft of the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) was called “deeply offensive” by Governor Newsom, Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis said that it “would marginalize and promote discrimination against some of our most vulnerable populations,” and many other California leaders voiced similar significant concerns. Yet Liberated Ethnic Studies consultants who wrote that first draft are currently being hired in some California schools to teach exactly that.
2a. Would you support teaching our students the first draft of ESMC?
⭘ Yes, I support teaching Liberated Ethnic Studies (based on the 1st ESMC draft).
◉ No, I oppose teaching Liberated Ethnic Studies (based on the 1st ESMC draft).
2b. Would you support hiring Liberated Ethnic Studies consultants, who wrote and endorsed the 1st ESMC draft?
⭘ Yes, I support hiring Liberated Ethnic Studies consultants, who wrote and endorse the 1st ESMC draft.
◉ No, I oppose hiring Liberated Ethnic Studies consultants, who wrote and endorse the 1st ESMC draft.
2c.How would you make sure that consultants who wrote or support the problematic first ESMC draft do not implement Ethnic Studies in our district?
“In determining who will be involved in the development of the curriculum, we, as a District, would have to do our due diligence. This means reviewing prior work product of consultant applicants, discussing goals of the curriculum, and ensuring that we eliminate candidates that who do not have a firm understanding of those goals or who wrote/support the first ESMC draft. I believe the program we adopt must be designed to develop students’ critical thinking skills, their ability to discriminate between fact and opinion, and understanding and tolerance of diverse points of view. It is important for our children to learn about the many cultures in our world without attaching bias to that learning. So, throughout the development of the curriculum, which must be transparent, I would advocate for continued review to ensure its design continues to align with that framework.”
3. Many school districts are considering hiring consultants to implement ES courses. In some cases, these consultants have been hired with a single-source bidding process, instead of ensuring an open bidding process with multiple entities. Similarly, contrary to the Ethnic Studies requirement law (AB 101), some districts have neglected to present their ES plans at open Board meetings.
What oversight will you provide to ensure that our district promotes a transparent process, with open bidding and community feedback opportunities?
“The local School Board is tasked with adopting the curriculum in our schools, including the Ethnic Studies curriculum. The curriculum, as well as the decision to implement the curriculum should be transparent to our community, allowing for input and comments from our educational partners, including parents and teachers. I will speak up to ensure we are using that input, taking the time to thoroughly vet the curriculum, and ensuring it takes into account a range of views. Then, after the curriculum's adoption, I will work to ensure strong guardrails, taking parent feedback into account, so that the curriculum is adhered to.”
4. Which statement about the Civil Rights Movement do you agree with?
◉ The Civil Rights Movement played a pivotal role in combating racism in our country.
⭘ The role of the Civil Rights Movement has been overstated and other leaders such as the Black Panthers are better role models for students.
5. Some versions of Ethnic Studies teach about meritocracy. Which of the following statements do you agree with:
◉ Our society should strive for meritocracy.
⭘ Meritocracy is a sign of white supremacy.
6. Some ES curricula include promoting the Boycott Divest and Sanctions Movement (BDS). One aim of this movement is to dismantle the state of Israel, denying the Jewish people the right to self-determination in their historic homeland. Do you support or oppose efforts to boycott, divest, or sanction Israel (BDS)? If no idea, please read this brochure or this article to understand BDS.
⭘ I support BDS
◉ I oppose BDS
⭘ I don’t know
7. Have you participated in an organized activity, including a discussion forum, on anti-Asian hate, anti-Muslim hate, antisemitism, or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
⭘ Yes.
◉ No.
If yes, please list examples.
No response given.
8. If there is anything else you would like us to know, please tell us here:
No response given.
Analysis:
It should be pointed out that candidates Dan Jeffries, Joe Radabaugh, and Octavia Thuss did not respond to the initial ACES survey request sent on Sep. 21, 2022. Barsom was inadvertently not sent the initial request. When I found out about the ACES questionnaire in mid October, reviewed the candidate responses received and saw that none of our candidates had responded, I sent a private email to all four candidates and encouraged them to complete the survey. After my email, Barsom, Jeffries and Radabaugh responded. Thuss did not. If she does, I will update this article.
It is interesting to note that neither Radabaugh nor Jeffries responded to the actual questions asked, but each sent a short one-paragraph response that avoided making a commitment to either constructive or liberated approaches to the development of the Ethnic Studies course. Only Barsom answered the survey completely, pledging not to take a liberated approach.
Further, Radabaugh stated that it was “important to me that our district adopts in a manner that takes into consideration our community’s circumstances and values,” yet the Governing Board has levied no requirements or constraints on the committee apparently creating the Ethnic Studies course, and has made no attempt to ascertain the community’s “circumstances and values” with regard to Ethnic Studies.
Jeffries stated, “It is important to me that the ethnic studies course that our district approves be developed with the involvement of our community in a transparent manner and that we adopt an ethnic studies course and related professional development that is inclusive.” Yet most of the community is not even aware of the development of the Ethnic Studies course, much less been asked to help develop it. There are numerous state Educational Code (EC) requirements and district Board Policies & Administrative Regulations that cover the development and adoption of instructional materials. Among these is LCUSD Administrative Regulation 6161.1 (“Selection and Evaluation of Instructional Materials”), which states:
“The district's review process for evaluating instructional materials shall involve teachers in a substantial manner and shall encourage the participation of parents/guardians and community members in accordance with Education Code 60002.”
Yet so far, parents, guardians and other community members have had zero insight into the development of the Ethnic Studies course. It is left to the imagination how our community can be involved in the development and approval of the Ethnic Studies course if they have no knowledge of it, and the Board itself has communicated no requirements or constraints to district staff doing the development.
Barsom provided the most complete answer to ACES’ questions and appears to be aware of the policies and statutes requiring parent and teacher involvement in the development and approval of curriculum. Whether this awareness and concern translates into guidance on the course development remains to be seen. She must be elected first.
While some may wonder why it is important to gain insight into the development of LCHS’s Ethnic Studies course at this time, consider the following:
As I have written about previously on this substack, ethnic studies has been used as a Trojan horse by activist groups, notably the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium (LESMCC), to advance their political ideology and objectives on California school children. LESMCC is working with many public school districts up and down California including Castro Valley USD, Santa Barbara USD, Hayward USD, San Francisco USD, Jefferson USD, Salinas USD, and San Diego USD to teach liberated ethnic studies in their schools.
All LCUSD students will be required to take the Ethnic Studies course currently under development at LCHS starting next school year.
The development of an Ethnic Studies course presents an opportunity to achieve the stated goal of AB-101 and AB-2016 — “to empower students, to build bridges of inter-ethnic understanding, and to foster ‘an appreciation for the contributions of multiple cultures’” — or an opportunity for ideologically driven special interests to advance their own political agenda.