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The San Ramon Valley Unified School District’s Board of Education is set to continue discussions this week on a proposed new ethnic studies course that would be implemented in the next school year should the board vote to approve it.
The proposed curriculum was developed following the board’s formal decision last fall to implement an ethnic studies requirement in alignment with new state law that requires public school districts to offer ethnic studies courses to high school students, as well as making ethnic studies courses a graduation requirement starting with the class of 2030.
District staff introduced the curriculum they’d developed since last fall during a March meeting, with discussions resuming at its April 17 meeting. A vote on the resolution approving the curriculum was delayed last month amid ongoing criticism from a range of perspectives, with public comment on the item extending to over an hour.
“Staff reflected heavily on the input we received during the public review window and made some modifications to the curriculum,” wrote Debra Petish, executive director of curriculum and instruction in a staff report prepared for the upcoming meeting. “However, we did not change the inherent nature of the course. The curriculum was built by our educators and modeled closely after the California State Board–adopted Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum. Significant changes to the curriculum would require restarting the process of curriculum development and approval aligned with SRVUSD policy and practice.”
According to Petish, community feedback during previous board meetings and during the public review period for the proposed curriculum pointed to “seven key themes,” including teacher qualifications and training, balancing representation, a safe and supportive environment for students, and critical thinking about historical power dynamics.
Petish noted that the course will only be taught by credentialed social studies teachers, with all teachers set to teach the course already having completed 17 hours of relevant professional development, and with an additional 21 hours of training set for the next school year.
“Training includes facilitating sensitive discussions, maintaining instructional balance, and understanding the global contexts of sensitive conflicts,” Petish wrote. “Teachers will be supported through a vetted resource library, structured planning time, and ongoing coaching.”
While the state’s model curriculum outlines four areas of emphasis for the new course – African American Studies, Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies, Chicana/o/x and Latin/o/x studies, and Native American Studies, Petish noted that class projects, including an autoethnography, are aimed at representing all students’ backgrounds.
“The goal is for every student to see themselves reflected in the curriculum in meaningful and affirming ways,” Petish wrote. “Additional projects, including the Family Migration Story and Community Counter-Narratives, deepen student self-awareness and build understanding of peers’ experiences.”
Petish also noted that unity and a supportive atmosphere are goals for the development and implementation of the course, and that it is designed to foster student connections rather than divisions.
“The curriculum includes community-building strategies such as restorative circles, scaffolded reflection, and structured classroom norms to support psychological safety,” Petish wrote. “Students are provided with voice and choice in how they participate and express their learning.”
Other topics in previous discussions addressed by Petish include the district’s decision to make the course a graduation requirement starting in 2029 – a year earlier than required by the state – and gaps in content on antisemitism and the Jewish community. The latter, she said, has been addressed in revisions to the curriculum since the board’s last meeting. However, the district is not set to change course on implementing the graduation requirement a year earlier than the state requires, which is reflected in the board policy requiring the course that was adopted last year.
District staff are recommending that the board adopt the proposed curriculum following a third public hearing on the item at the May 13 meeting. The agenda is available here.
In other business
*The board is set to hear a presentation and issue a proclamation recognizing June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
*The board is set to hear an annual report on special education.
*The board is set to discuss whether to vote for or against the proposed lighting and landscaping assessment changes being proposed by the Danville Town Council. The district is estimated to see an initial drop in LLAD assessment fees under the proposed changes according to a staff report from Superintendent CJ Cammack.
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