Graduation requirement could be at risk if Fresno Unified cuts Ethnic Studies budget

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Despite soon becoming a state high school graduation requirement, Ethnic Studies classes offered at Fresno Unified schools are at risk as the district looks to put program expansion on hold amid planned budget cuts.

The district says possible cuts are due to the new agreement with the Teachers’ Association to increase pay and reduce class sizes. Teachers, for their part, say the district has been failing to offer enough courses for students to meet graduation and college admissions requirements.

At risk during this budget season is a “Teacher on Assignment” position that has been in place for two years to expand the Ethnic Studies curriculum, mentor new teachers, and obtain outside support. That teacher received a layoff notice when the board approved a resolution in March that could result in 100 positions lost, meaning those teachers could lose their jobs or be reassigned to regular course teaching.

The district told The Bee on Friday that they would try to save the position, but the final decision will be made in June.

“In our opinion, we’re not going fast enough to meet the demand of that graduation requirement,” said Marisa Rodriguez, an Ethnic Studies teacher at Roosevelt High.

The problem is beyond lacking Ethnic Studies course offerings, Rodriguez and other teachers told The Bee, but the ripple effect of asking schools and students to potentially choose between fulfilling graduation requirements by taking available Ethnic Studies classes and other courses that interest them.

There aren’t enough teachers to meet surging demand for Ethnic Studies classes, so the availability of other electives might suffer. Rodriguez said the Department of Social Science is making hard decisions in choosing courses to offer. The site used to have AP Psychology, Human Geography, World History, Civics, Economics, and more.

“You’re promising that this is a new requirement, but you’re not making sure on the back end that you’re appropriating money to make sure that you can accomplish it without sacrificing any other courses that kids still want to take,” she said.

Abraham Perez, Chicano Studies teacher at Edison High, told board members at a recent meeting that he’s frustrated some Edison High student might be forced to choose between some AP classes and his class or other Ethnic Studies courses.

“Students are learning about themselves, their history and their community for the first time (in Ethnic Studies course), this is an opportunity for them to finally see themselves reflected in the curriculum,” he said. “To be blunt, I’m very frustrated and concerned that Edison students are forced to choose between AP opportunities or the rollout, or worse, to be told that there’s no choice.”

The Ethnic Studies position under threat is among 60 TSAs that Fresno Unified is proposing to reassign back to general classroom teaching. Though the decision won’t be finalized until June, the time when the Board of Trustees passes the budget for the next year, the resolutions to reduce roles were approved and layoff notices were sent in March to meet the timeline requirements per the state law.

The district told The Bee that despite potential budget cuts that it has enough space for any student who wants to take an Ethnic Studies class during the 2024-25 school year.

The district wants to cut $30 million to $40 million in the next year’s budget, said Nikki Henry, the district’s chief communications officer in an email to The Fresno Bee. The agreement allows the district to reassign up to 75 teachers “On assignment” back to the classroom in the next two school years.

A state bill passed in 2021 mandates California students take at least one semester of Ethnic Studies or its topical courses to graduate from high school, effective from the class of 2030. But Fresno Unified wanted to go further with the aim of fulfilling the requirement starting with the class of 2027. The district used to provide a range of Ethnic Studies resources, from bringing in experts to funding educators for training from San Francisco State University.

Teachers and community advocates established The Fresno Ethnic Studies Coalition in 2020 to promote the Ethnic Studies curriculum, as well as to raise awareness to create a space for students to discuss race and ethnicity. As the third largest school district in California, over 90% of Fresno Unified students are people of color, nearly 87% come from low-income families, and 20% are English learners.

Ethnic Studies teachers meet regularly for training, developing the curriculum, advocating for more topical courses and more social science teachers, and to gather data and course feedback.

Rodriguez said Ethnic Studies teachers used to volunteer to shoulder these extra tasks, in their own time, for the benefit of expanding the program, and that’s why they value the role.

The potential removal of the “Teacher on Assignment” role gives responsibilities back to teachers.

“Should it be on somebody who’s getting paid to do that, because they don’t have to worry about teaching five periods a day?” she said.

“It’s important to note that this work (Ethnic Studies) was led by teachers of color, it should not be on teachers of colors’ backs to lift this work alone,” said Lauren Beal, who teaches African American Studies at Edison High, speaking to the school board during a recent public comment session. “The one TSA position we fought, fought, fought, fought hard to get has now been cut from Ethnic Studies which leaves one VPSA over a school district for 70,000 children to be prepared to engage with Ethnic Studies, this is unacceptable.”