Organizing around Culturally Relevant Curriculum

Currently, education stakeholders around the country are voicing their support for greater inclusion of culturally relevant curriculum in schools. This advocacy work is taking a wide variety of shapes, depending on what part of the country the group is based in. For example, groups in Arizona are fighting against the Ethnic Studies Ban that was passed in 2010. On the other hand, groups in Texas and California are pushing for inclusion or even the requirement of cultural or ethnic curriculum in their school systems. To date, 3 school districts in California have made an Ethnic Studies a graduation requirement, however districts in Texas are facing strong opposition in the conservative state.¹⁵ As research and activism in this area continues, organizers and advocates are hopeful that more districts and schools will come to recognize the benefits of culturally relevant curriculum and will join districts who’ve adopted these requirements. Further, movements to protect culturally relevant curriculum and ethnic studies courses are not isolated to middle school or high school, but are also evident at public universities (see ESCAPE).