CARLSBAD - A new ethnic studies course will be taught in Carlsbad Unified schools after some changes were made by the school board.
During a school board meeting last week, Carlsbad Unified approved what will be the district's first ethnic studies class. The class will have students will analyze how African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are portrayed in various films over the years.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the class was approved after the board removed references to "White Eurocentric dominant culture” and institutional racism in the course description. Those references were the subject of protest by parent and community groups at the board meeting last month. One board member said the questions asked in the description operated on the premise that institutionalized racism was a fact and that open-ended questions should be asked to encourage students' use of critical thinking.
The course description still references systemic racism in order to align with state curriculum guidelines. Board members say those references will not be used in teaching the class.
Starting in 2025, the state will require all high school students to take an Ethnic Studies course in order to graduate.
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