Where are the CA Legislative Latino Caucus (LLC), Legislative Black Caucus (LBC), and Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus (APILC) when it comes to opposing “racist AB2918” and standing up for Ethnic Studies and Teachers of Color?
by Flip P. Burnett
Why is it that at the Senate Education Committee hearing on AB2918 (a bill that seeks to introduce additional regulations and oversight on Ethnic Studies in California), it was a white ally, in solidarity with communities of color, who spoke the most clearly on why CA AB2918 is highly problematic and undermines racial equity efforts?
Senator Dave Cortese (D-15) courageously did so, while standing against both racism and antisemitism, and following through with action as a champion for racial justice by abstaining his vote on the bill. Meanwhile, where are the CA Legislative Caucuses of Color on this, are they aware of what is being done with this “gut and amend” bill that educators of color are considering “racist legislation”? Will the legislative caucuses of color also stand up and take action against AB2918, or will they be complicit in this harmful effort to single out Ethnic Studies for additional scrutiny and undermine its implementation at this crucial juncture?
Currently, AB2918 is in the “suspense file” of the Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Anna Caballero (D-14). It is worth noting that while state level funding for ethnic studies curricular and instructional development was reduced to $0 for the 2024-2025 fiscal year in the budget that was finalized in late June, enforcing additional “guardrails” on ethnic studies would require significant state spending of many thousands of dollars to implement.
How is California reflecting its values through its budgeting with these decisions? If the bill is allowed to proceed, the evident answer is the prioritization of the dual values of continuing to marginalize the only sliver of K-12 education that by definition is led by communities of color (merely a one semester course in 13 years of elementary and secondary education); and simultaneously enabling the increased subjugation of teachers and students of color—California needs to be better than this in 2024, both morally and fiscally.
Do CA Legislative Caucuses of Color find it acceptable that there is no funding in the state budget for educators of color to further develop ethnic studies in 2024-2025 ($0); yet conversely, under AB2918, there would be state funding allocated to police, scrutinize, and harass educators of color (thousands of $$$$$)? Do they realize these dual realities are exactly what is currently happening here? If they don’t yet realize the two main parts of this equation, disadvantaging communities of color on both ends, why not? If so, why are they enabling this (and why wait to publicly express this concern and take action, as Senator Cortese already publicly has)? It’s too late for the former, since the state budget was ratified in June; however, it’s not too late for the latter (yet). A decision will likely be made on the bill on August 15 (or the 16th) in the Senate Education Committee.
Clearly, AB2918 would cause state-level misallocation of substantial funds, largely for fruitless goose chases and educator witch hunts—eerily similar to what right-wing legislatures in deep red states are doing to suppress the teaching of Ethnic Studies, LGBTQ+ Studies, and more. Locally throughout California, districts themselves would be burdened with significant additional financial costs, as well as time, energy, and resources, to safeguard their teachers. This exacerbates the existing challenges and contributes to the high turnover in the profession, particularly among educators of color who are already severely underrepresented and disproportionately affected.
Hatred, bigotry, oppression, in all its forms, must be confronted wherever it emerges, with special attention to the circumstances of protected groups who have historically been subjected to these realities as a matter of course, often under the guise of being “helped” or “improved upon” with initiatives catalyzed from outside of these groups (and as AB2918 purports to do), while actually doing harm.
Fortunately, these protections are already explicitly found in California Education Code Law, Section 220, as they should be. AB2918 significantly hinders the efforts to confront bigotry and racism, and is misguided in its targeting of educators of color. As stated by the California Teachers Association (CTA) Asian & Pacific Islander Caucus, CTA African American Caucus, CTA American Indian/Alaska Native Caucus, and CTA El Sol Caucus, “this racist bill cannot be further entertained or amended to remove the malicious intent it began with”.
Read two excerpts of Senator Cortese’s remarks from the Senate Education Committee hearing on AB2918 (7/3/24) below, and/or watch the video in full, here:
“THIS IS ME TALKING NOW, WE TAKE THIS BROAD BRUSH TO ETHNIC STUDIES, WHICH IS A STATE WIDE FRAMEWORK. IT’S STATEWIDE LAW. IT’S NOT ABOUT JUST ONE ETHNIC GROUP OR ONE CONCERN THAT WE’RE THAT WE’RE SEEING SPIKE RIGHT NOW. IT STRIKES ME THAT IF WE’RE GOING TO CHANGE THE WAY WE DEAL WITH IT, WE HAVE TO THEN IN ORDER TO GET TO THIS ISSUE AND OTHERS, WE HAVE A LOT OF GROUND TO COVER AS EVERYONE’S SAYING. BUT THAT’S THE NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY. THAT’S THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY, THAT IS THE LATINO COMMUNITY. WE JUST HEARD THAT, IT GOES ON AND ON AND ON. WE HAVE 100 DIFFERENT CULTURES AND SUBCULTURES. PLUS IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY, ACTUALLY OVER 100 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AND DIALECTS SPOKEN JUST IN THAT COUNTY ALONE…
WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, CHANGING THE REVIEW PROCESS BY HAVING FOLKS COME IN WHO ARE NOT NECESSARILY SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS RAISES ENORMOUS QUESTIONS IN MY MIND ABOUT HOW THE BROADER COMMUNITY FEELS ABOUT THAT. MEANING THE BROADER. AND IF WE START GOING FROM STAKEHOLDER TO STAKEHOLDER TO STAKEHOLDER, ARE THEY COMFORTABLE WITH THAT? ARE PEOPLE COMFORTABLE WITH THAT? OR HAS THEIR EXPERIENCE BEEN FOR EXAMPLE, THAT IT’S NOT REALLY A JURY OF THEIR PEERS, SO TO SPEAK, WHO’S GOING TO END UP BEING ON THAT REVIEW PANEL?
I COULD SEE THAT IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES WITH SOME ETHNIC GROUPS, WHO ARE ALREADY MARGINALIZED IN MOST DISCUSSIONS, FEELING THIS IS JUST GOING TO BE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO BE OUTNUMBERED AND BE SHOVED INTO A CLASSIC MINORITY POSITION WHERE, WE CAN SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER, BUT WE’RE NEVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO EFFECTUATE THE CURRICULUM, AND SO THAT IS A PIECE I’M CONCERNED ABOUT”.
Flip P. Burnett writes on the intersections of education, social justice, and the necessary agency of communities of color in relation to decisions which directly impact us.
