New Bill Introduced to Create Content Standards For Ethnic Studies Classes

Over the weekend, a new bill that would create content standards for high school ethnic studies courses and have the state review curriculum and materials for ethnic studies courses was introduced in the Assembly.

Assembly Bill 1468, authored by Assemblyman Rick Zbur (D-Los Angeles) and  Assemblywoman Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) would expand on AB 101, a bill passed in 2021 which requires one ethnic studies course to be completed for high school graduation beginning with the class of 2030. AB 1468 would specifically mandate the State Board of Education to develop and adopt content standards for ethnic studies courses in California high schools by January 1, 2028, despite mandatory courses beginning next school year.

In addition, an advisory committee of experts in the specified ethnic studies fields, working with the state Board of Education, are to review and recommend curriculum frameworks and instructional materials for ethnic studies. For more local school districts, their ethnic studies curriculum and materials must be brought to the California Department of Education by June 30, 2026 for review. Finally, the state is then to monitor compliance with the new regulations and will form an advisory committee to develop content standards and instructional materials.

“This bill would require the state board to, on or before January 1, 2028, develop and adopt academically rigorous content standards for ethnic studies instruction in high school,” states AB 1468. “The bill would require the commission, on or before January 1, 2028, to review and recommend to the state board curriculum frameworks and instructional materials for ethnic studies instruction in high school. The bill would require the state board to provide the commission with evaluation criteria to use in providing its review and recommendations. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to establish an advisory committee with a majority of the advisory committee’s members being experts in African American studies, Asian American and Pacific Islander studies, Native American studies, and Latino and Chicanx studies, to provide input to the state board on proposed content standards and to the commission on proposed curriculum frameworks and instructional materials for ethnic studies instruction in high school.”

Zbur and Addis wrote the bill because AB 101 lacked uniform standards for ethnic studies courses, which has led to some classes using antisemitic material when dealing with subjects like the Israel-Gaza War.

“A lack of clear curriculum standards for ethnic studies has allowed groups with biased ideological agendas to peddle factually-inaccurate and blatantly antisemitic curriculum to school districts, posing a threat to Jewish children’s safety,” said Zbur on the bill.

While AB 1468 has 31 co-authors and sizable support, the bill has also divided teachers unions, Jewish groups, labor unions, Palestinian groups, and numerous others over the bill putting in standards and potentially restricting what teachers can and cannot talk about in the course.

Support for, opposition against AB 1468

In addition, the Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN) noted that AB 1468 creates a “backwards timeline,” arguing that the bill “delays content standards until January 2028, yet demands curriculum plans by June 2026.” They likewise pointed out that the new standards still leave room open for bias, and that required ethnic studies classes still divides more than unites students.

AB 1468 is also brought forward at a time when there is a growing discontent over ethnic studies curriculum in school districts across the state. In Palo Alto, no guidelines threw the process into chaos in January, with a curriculum narrowly passing after weeks of parental group clashes. In Santa Ana earlier this month, several planned ethnic studies classes needed to be dropped following a lawsuit by Jewish groups showing how those classes were antisemitic. Other districts have further showed some hesitancy in approving such classes, waiting for the state to weigh in on matters. Still others are unsure about having classes only focus on African American, Asian American/Pacific Islander, Native American, and Hispanic/Latino racial groups.

“Just because a policy may seem to have momentum, there’s no reason to help it along if it’s toxic, divisive, and redundant,” ICAN said. “AB 1468 locks our kids into a course that’s already splitting communities—like Santa Ana’s lawsuits over antisemitism and Palo Alto’s protests over bias. After the 2024 antisemitism surge, fueled by activist teachers and shaky rules, doubling down on this flawed system isn’t progress—it’s reckless, risking more hate when our schools need unity.

“AB 1468 doesn’t broaden stories—it narrows them to four ethnic groups, sidelining Jewish, Middle Eastern, Sikh, mixed-race and other Californians. Pilot failures in Berkeley, Santa Ana, and Palo Alto prove it fosters resentment, not understanding—diminishing diversity, not celebrating it.”

Even with such opposition, many have said that guarantees over classrooms not going into subjects disparaging groups and having guardrails in place to prevent that could turn many around in time for voting on the bill.

“This is a, to put it mildly, sensitive issue for many,” said Dana, a Capitol staffer on Monday. “AB 101, you know, so many called it ‘anti-white’ since it ignored the plight of white ethnic groups who also faced discrimination. There’s also the question of if these classes even work. Some early ethnic studies classes have made students even more divisive, while others were taught in such a way that students left with more extreme views than they had before.

“And that doesn’t even go into grading standards. AB 1468 is just the latest flashpoint. And it’s a corrective measure. They made these classes mandatory without setting up how the classes should be. Of course there were going to be conflicts. And now we are going to see how much this bill will be cut up and amended. If you’ve been here long enough, you get a feeling of if a bill is going to be butchered, and this is one of them.”