FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A Los Angeles County school district offers an ethnic studies course covering the “intersectionality” of “identity markers” such as race, gender, and sexual orientation.
“Ethnic Studies aims to educate students on social justice themes related to ethnicity, identity, and the historical element that is the common denominator, while providing students with a democratic toolkit intended to support student’s project-based learning needs,” according to a course overview obtained through a public records request by the Center for American Liberty and shared with The Daily Signal.
The class, offered to seniors at Clark Magnet High School in the Glendale Unified School District, encourages “social activism” by “building on the district’s social justice standards while incorporating the new history social science framework.”
California Assembly Bill 101 made ethnic studies a high school graduation requirement in 2021.
A copy of Glendale’s ethnic studies course outline, obtained by the Center for American Liberty.
“This class will establish a solid foundation of social responsibility, build a platform for civic engagement, while encouraging direct community involvement and social activism,” the course description states.
Mark Trammell, executive director of the Center for American Liberty, the nonprofit group that uncovered the ethnic studies curriculum, said the class is part of the Left’s ongoing efforts to insert critical race theory into public education.
“Taxpayer-funded schools are being systematically transformed into far-left social justice indoctrination facilities,” Trammell said. “Students deserve better. They deserve to be inspired to think independently, not to be trained to regurgitate leftist pablum.”
In September 2022, the district assembled a committee of teachers of all grades to create the ethnic studies course outline. A staff member, whose name was redacted from the document, suggested in an email to colleagues that the themes of the ethnic studies course would not be unfamiliar to Glendale students.
“The goal would be to create a high school class that expands on what they learn in the lower grades,” the staff member said.
Some staff members underwent ethnic studies training with the Los Angeles County Office of Education to prepare to create the course curriculum, according to the internal emails.
The L.A. County Office of Education provides a sample ethnic studies curriculum defining ethnic studies as “the interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and Indigeneity, with an emphasis on the experiences of people of color in the United States.”
Students in the Clark Magnet High School class are taught the importance of observing their classmates’ gender identity. In the “Identity” unit, students learn that “respect means getting it right” when it comes to names and pronouns.
In March 2023, the district discussed requiring annual professional development on advocating for LGBTQ students. According to internal emails, staff members were not voluntarily showing up to LGBTQ trainings, so the district needed to require them to do so, with the goal of “fostering inclusive classrooms and LGBTQIA+ awareness as well as inclusive sexual health professional development for 9th grade health teachers.”
Other aspects of the unit include “identity charts,” “ethnocentrism,” “understanding intersectionality,” and “LGBTQ Introduction and historical context.”
The African American unit covers the Black Lives Matter movement and “stereotypes and prejudice.”
The class requires students to do a social media campaign to bring attention to a social justice issue.
“Students will have opportunities to analyze social change over time, learn about varied student populations, while exploring new perspectives in creative, hands-on projects,” the course description says.
The Glendale Unified School District did not respond to The Daily Signal’s emailed request for comment by publication time.
