WA Board of Ed looks to expand controversial ethnic studies graduation requirement

The Washington State Board of Education is moving closer to officially updating and expanding a 2021 resolution that established an ethnic studies graduation requirement

Board members discussed “incorporating Ethnic Studies into the legislative platform, and/or addressing Ethnic Studies through the FutureReady graduation requirements initiative,” according to the agenda for Thursday’s virtual board of education meeting.

According to the board’s website, FutureReady – implemented this summer – is an initiative to update graduation requirements to better prepare students for the future.

However, the increasing focus on ethnic studies in all subjects is not without controversy.

The Washington chapter of the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism, or FAIR, has encouraged its members and supporters to speak out at board meetings in opposition to the ethnic studies push.

“SBE seems prepared to encourage more school districts to promote social justice theories and activism in K-12 classrooms through ethnic studies,” read a mass email sent to FAIR supporters ahead of the Washington State Board of Education’s August meeting. “It defines the subject to emphasize ‘oppressor vs. oppressed’” ideas as part of a push to “dismantle white supremacy.”

In public testimony during Thursday’s meeting, one longtime teacher raised concerns about the board's focus on ethnic studies.

“I’ve been a teacher for 30 years, and I’ve traveled the world, and my cultural experiences have made me a global explorer of the world,” Ronda Looney said. “I found your bullet points extremely alarming, as your points of concentration focus on the educational transformation to a socialist model which does not coincide with your basic educational goals for Washington students.”

She was referring to bullet points in an ethnic studies memo.

“In my judgment, you do not have a clear standard of learning that can be measured within your criteria for assessment, especially if ethnic studies is dispersed throughout all fields of discipline,” Looney continued. “Your current works do not emphasize and establish practical application that teachers can implement without personal bias.”

Board member Angela Griffin suggested that much of the opposition to ethnic studies is misinformed.

“I think there are assumptions being made about this being divisive and about blame and guilt and so forth,” Griffin said. “I think there’s an opportunity to ensure that every student and even some educators will learn, and some parents and some community members will learn more about who makes up our nation and who makes up our community and what value each of us adds.”

Board member Susana Reyes, superintendent of the Shoreline School District, said the board should emphasize bullet points in its ethnic studies memo that spell out what ethnic studies is not.

“We hear the concerns that have been brought to us about ethnic studies, and I think it’s really important that we emphasize every one of these points,” Reyes said. “These points can reassure groups of people that are concerned.”

The memo states ethnic studies is not about blame or guilt, racial superiority, indoctrination, a single course or class, or a mandated curriculum.

“A key goal of Ethnic Studies is to promote anti-racism and social justice, linking movements that aim to end all forms of oppression,” the memo goes on to say. “It provides a space for students to explore their own identities, understand the impact of systemic racism, and consider ways to contribute to a more just and equitable society."

As the two-and-a-half-hour meeting concluded, board member Ron Mabry asked fellow members to clarify their mission.

“Who are we making a recommendation to?” Mabry asked. “Is our end goal to make a recommendation to our legislators?”

“We wanted to get input from the board on how you’re feeling about this,” responded Vice-chair of the Washington State Board of Education Mary Fertakis. “Our entire platform comes back to the board, and at our October meeting we will be voting to approve and adopt that for the upcoming legislative session.”

Liv Finne, director of the Center for Education at the Washington Policy Center think tank, urged the board to reject the platform.

“The state board should not adopt this anti-Semitic curriculum that teaches children to divide one another on the basis of race and ethnicity," she told The Center Square.