Elk Grove school district adds ethnic studies requirement. What will it cover?
The Elk Grove Unified School District is adding a new graduation requirement for students in the class of 2030 and beyond.
The district will begin offering ninth graders the course “Introduction to Ethnic Studies” in the 2026-27 school year, the district said in an announcement earlier this month.
This course will replace the district’s world geography graduation requirement, according to Stacey Greer, a program specialist for EGUSD who has overseen the ethnic studies course in the curriculum and professional learning department.
What will EGUSD’s ethnic studies course cover?
Elk Grove students in this course will read “Our Stories in Our Voices,” an anthology of short stories compiled by Dale Allender and Gregory Yee Mark, both professors at Sacramento State.
“The majority of the narratives in this anthology are authored by diverse people of color about the history, education, ethnic identity, and struggle for social justice in the Sacramento Valley,” Greer said.
According to Greer, the course objectives are that students will be able to:
- Develop a deeper understanding of themselves and others to increase self-empowerment, build empathy, and bridge differences.
- Reflect and effectively articulate their own perspectives in response to open-ended questions about course concepts and materials.
- Effectively and respectfully engage in dialogue and discussions with their peers across different perspectives.
- Examine hidden histories of civic movements and experiences within and across racial and ethnic groups from the Sacramento Valley, our state, and our nation. Consider the means and impact of resistance, resilience, allyship and solidarity in these histories.
- Analyze primary and secondary sources from history, personal narratives, literature, music, and art, to respond to open-ended questions with a claim supported by evidence, analysis, and reasoning in written and oral forms.
- Apply what they are learning to identify and research an issue in their community that they care about and share potential solutions to improve their communities.
The statewide curriculum model focuses on “four foundational disciplines: African American, Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x, Native American, and Asian American and Pacific Islander studies,” specifically these groups’ histories, cultures, struggles and contributions to society while allowing districts to adapt the curriculum to address the demographics of local students.
Why was this course added?
California Assembly Bill 101, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021, added the completion of a one-semester course in ethnic studies to the graduation requirements for incoming freshmen who started the ninth grade during the 2025-26 school year. This was the first state requirement of its kind in the nation.
However, that requirement was contingent on state funding.
While the state allocated $50 million in one-time funding in the 2021-22 budget divided between California’s districts to implement the ethnic studies requirement, more funding would be required. The Senate Appropriations Committee estimated in 2021 that the requirement would cost $276 million a year.
No funding was included in the 2025-26 budget for the requirement.
H.D. Palmer, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Finance, said the state has “limited available ongoing resources” as it tries to close a budget shortfall estimated to be $2.9 billion.
The ethnic studies requirement remains contingent upon a future funding appropriation, Palmer said.
How much will this requirement cost EGUSD?
Greer said the state’s one-time funding allocation “is sufficient to cover initial and ongoing professional development costs for teachers for several more years.” After the funding runs out, the district will pay for the program through its regular budget.
Staffing levels will not change, and the textbook costs less than the materials used for the eliminated world geography course, Greer said.
What’s next?
The district is hosting informational webinars for those curious about the course. The next session is at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
