THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION cuts half its staff as President Donald Trump vows to wind the agency down, a move that will lead to higher student dropout rates, and California already has the highest dropout rate in the country. Ethnic studies is the solution that can save all of our children — American Indian, White, Black, Latinx, immigrant, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Arab American, Asian American, rural, urban, rich and poor.
How, you might ask?
Ethnic studies courses help to close educational gaps and improve student learning outcomes.
According to the National Education Association and at least 13 different studies that explored the impact of ethnic studies on high school students across all subject areas and across all racial groups, there is an increase in student academic performance and achievement after taking at least one ethnic studies course.
Other studies indicate that students who take ethnic studies courses at the university level regardless of their racial background are more likely to complete their degrees in normative time. One such study found that it is 92% more likely that students who take one of these classes will graduate sooner than peers in other academic departments.
A 2016 research study found that “Ethnic Studies participation increased high school student attendance by 21%, cumulative ninth-grade GPA by 1.4 grade points, and credits earned by 23 credits.”
I’ve seen with my own eyes the power of ethnic studies to change lives and to literally save them. When I was a professor at San Francisco State University, a survey by the Cesar Chavez Institute found that students of all races including white students feel more empowered and connected to community and peers after taking ethnic studies courses.
In the American Indian Studies Department at SF State, where I was department chair for six and a half years, most of our majors were non-Native and white. Many were Jewish students who thrived in our department and in the College of Ethnic Studies. These students thrived alongside Native, Black, Asian, and Latinx students.
Making it a graduation requirement
In October 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 101 into law. AB 101 requires all high school students in the state to complete an ethnic studies course to graduate. The goal is to improve high school graduation rates and to create a more globally literate and civically engaged society.
Since 2021, an ethnic studies writing group made up of leading national and international ethnic studies and education experts has worked to create a course content criteria document to assist high school teachers and school districts with preparing for the creation and implementation of these courses.
Currently the University of California utilizes areas known collectively as the A-G to ensure high school students are successfully meeting the expectations for admission to the University of California in disciplines like math, science, English, and history. Area H would add an ethnic studies component to ensure students have the background and knowledge to be successful in UC level ethnic studies coursework.
The education system in California will collapse without ethnic studies, where we have the fastest growing youth demographic age 18 and under who are mixed-race, of color, and multilingual.
The request for Area H was made by the student leadership of the University of California’s Associated Students in 2021. The move would also be consistent with IGETC (Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum) which implemented an ethnic studies criteria in 2021-22 for students transferring to the UC. The largest public education system in California and in the country, the California State University (CSU) system, already requires an ethnic studies course in order to graduate.
As a member of the writing group and a subsequent implementation group, I have tracked the progress and the pushback. The proposal has been met with both great support and protest based on misunderstanding from many groups who have called into question whether such a criterion is necessary for the UC’s Area A-G. Opponents also ask how non-California applicants would meet the criteria. While others have raised concerns about whether the mandate for an ethnic studies high school requirement has the necessary funding to meet the need.
Making courses available to all
Currently about 50% of public schools in the state already teach ethnic studies courses and have done so without funding.
Students in other states, including in rural areas, can access ethnic studies courses through online education programs and through community colleges in their states where many current students already take AP courses to meet A-G area requirements to the UC.
As former Department Chair of Ethnic Studies at UC San Diego from 2020-24, we worked with the Office of Educational Innovation to enroll several hundred high school students in introductory level ethnic studies courses to meet district advanced placement demands.
The education system in California will collapse without ethnic studies because we live in a state with the fastest growing youth demographic age 18 and under who are mixed-race, of color, and multilingual in the history of the state.
As this diversity continues, we must provide robust educational training that prepares the state and the nation’s workforce with the necessary skill to work and thrive in a racially, ethnically, economically, and gender and religious diverse society.
Area H will ensure fairness and consistency in admissions across disciplines, and it will reduce time to degree completion. This is an urgent call to all parents, teachers, administrators, policy makers and UC officials who care about children and about educational excellence to demonstrate your support for the highest quality education possible by supporting the implementation of Area H.
Only time will tell if the UC stands with students or with policies that will further decimate education.
About the author
Andrew J. Jolivette, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology and Afro-Indigenous Studies
at University of California, Santa Barbara and 2025-26 Public Voices Fellow of The OpEd Project and UC Santa Barbara. His latest book, “Research Justice: Methodologies for Social Change, 10th Anniversary Edition,” will be released April 8.