The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is facing a lawsuit from the Friends of Lowell Foundation, an advocacy group, which alleges the district illegally concealed a controversial mandatory ethnic studies course from parents before its approval. The course, titled "Voices: An Ethnic Studies Survey," is designed for ninth-grade students and is accused of containing radical ideology and offensive content.
The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, contends that SFUSD officials refused to make the two-semester course available to parents for review before it was rapidly approved by the Board of Education on April 28. The complaint also alleges that the district diverted funds from arts and enrichment programs to finance a $7.3 million overhaul of history and social studies, which included the ethnic studies curriculum.
SFUSD, which faces a budget deficit exceeding $25 million and is considering school closures, reportedly spent at least $400,000 on ethnic studies consultants. Critics claim these consultants promote lessons on defunding the police, "land acknowledgments," and dismantling capitalism. Frank Cheung, secretary of Friends of Lowell Foundation, stated that the district has a history of discrimination against Asian Americans and has once again circumvented transparency laws.
Critics argue that the "Voices" course promotes far-left political ideologies, including anti-capitalism and oppression, and does not count towards University of California credit. This, they claim, forces students to take the identity-focused course instead of electives beneficial for college admissions.
The curriculum includes an "identity wheel" that prompts students to categorize themselves and others based on race, gender, sexual orientation, wealth, "indigenity," and body size. A section on "whiteness" reportedly asserts that Jewish and Asian Americans are considered "white" due to their societal hierarchy, a claim some find offensive, particularly given that roughly one-third of SFUSD students are Asian American.
The lawsuit further alleges that the district intentionally hid the course from parents, referencing a previous homegrown ethnic studies course that was removed after backlash for containing content that praised Chairman Mao's Red Guards and referred to the United States as the "so-called United States."
According to the lawsuit, the "Voices" course was added to the board agenda with minimal notice, and parents were only allowed to view materials in person during work hours. Supriya Ray, a Board of Education member, was the sole dissenter at the April meeting, expressing concern that the course was overly politicized for ninth graders and lacked the necessary historical context to foster critical thinking.
San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Maria Su addressed the course at a congressional hearing in June, asserting that the curriculum underwent a "rigorous evaluation process" and that the district has modernized its curriculum to align with state standards. The lawsuit seeks to have the Board of Education repeal its adoption of the ethnic studies course.