School Lessons

Palo Alto makes ethnic studies mandatory:

The Palo Alto school district went on an emotional roller-coaster ride over ethnic studies this past week. Administrators first rejected a state mandate to add the course as a graduation requirement — a win for critics of the class — and then days later a contentious five-hour public meeting ended with the school board pushing the mandate through. The vote to officially add ethnic studies to the Peninsula district’s graduation requirements, starting with the fall’s freshman class, seemingly ends a bitter two-year battle over what topics the semester-long course should include. Palo Alto’s curriculum is already fully developed, which reflects the state’s model curriculum, and is considered inclusive, district officials said... Critics, however, feared there were elements that would be considered more divisive, pitting racial groups against each other.

As is their intent...