Photo: AFP
Critics of California's ethnic studies bill say it's time to follow the money.
Kenny Xu is the author of "An Inconvenient Minority" and alleges the $50 million Governor Newsom already spent on consultancies for ethnic studies is just the beginning. The 11-member state Board of Education voted unanimously in March to adopt the model curriculum. In June the Hayward Unified School District became the first in the state to adopt the curriculum officially, promising in a press release that it “will be informed by and include Critical Race Theory.” San Diego Unified School District is expected to approve a similar plan later this summer.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “California Roars Back” plan is a $100 billion initiative to “reimagine public schools.” It includes $3 billion for community schools, which join with outside groups to offer additional services; $4 billion for behavioral health, which will naturally include problems accruing from systemic racism; and $2.6 billion for “research-tested interventions,” such as “high-dose tutoring,” presumably from board-approved organizations like the LESMC Institute.