The social science curriculum changes follow similar program overhauls for English language arts and mathematics. In 2024, SFUSD adopted a new language arts core curriculum for pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, and in the fall, it rolled out a new math curriculum for kindergarten through eighth grade.
“I am proud to follow through on our promise to provide a world-class education for every student — this is about making sure that we are setting our students up for success today and into the future,” Su said in a statement announcing the curriculum.
The board will also vote on standardized ninth-grade ethnic studies course materials, after the district’s homegrown curriculum, developed by educators over the last 15 years, caused controversy last summer.
SFUSD has been lauded as a leader in ethnic studies throughout the state, first introducing the course as an elective in 2010 and making it a yearlong requirement for ninth graders in 2024.
Studies showed improved graduation outcomes for students who took the course, and the district’s success was cited by state lawmakers when they enacted a mandate for California public schools to require a semester of ethnic studies in 2021. That policy was set to take effect last year, but it hasn’t been implemented due to budget constraints.
San Francisco’s course came under scrutiny last year following multiple reports from the national group Parents Defending Education, which has opposed lessons about racism, social justice, sexual orientation and gender identity. The group obtained a trove of SFUSD ethnic studies teachers’ lesson plans, curriculum and miscellaneous documents through public records requests, and accused the course of being “activist-driven” and biased.
Media coverage cited one in-class activity that asked students to role-play as Israeli soldiers putting Palestinians into refugee camps, and a slide deck that compared civil rights and other social movements to the Red Guards, an often-violent youth movement supporting Mao Zedong during China’s cultural revolution in the 1960s.
Ethnic studies teachers at the time told KQED they had never seen the documents or taught those lessons, but the curriculum was put aside by Su and replaced with an off-the-shelf option used in other districts across California.
In the fall, SFUSD piloted Voices: An Ethnic Studies Survey, by Gibbs Smith Education, which it’s now recommending as the permanent curriculum. The district said the Voices curriculum was the only one reviewed by an evaluation committee, which included 16 ethnic studies teachers and 15 other district educators, plus a handful of community members.
Su said it’s been well-received thus far, which is why she’s choosing to recommend it for permanent use.
The school board is set to vote on the curriculum changes April 28.
