Last month, the San Francisco Unified School District finally approved a new, perhaps final, version of ethnic studies curriculum for the upcoming school year.
The districtโs approval follows years of controversy around the ethnic studies course. The districtโs homegrown curriculum was offered as an elective for high school students from 2010 to 2024, but in 2024, when the district made the two semester class a graduation requirement, anger from some quarters ensued.
Critics, like the group Parents Defending Education, argued that the content of the curriculum, which discusses racism, sexuality, and gender identity, was inappropriate for a high school classroom, and objected to some excerpts from lesson plans shared with parents.
But a survey obtained by Mission Local found that students disagreed. An overwhelming 85 percent of students who took the survey at the end of the 2024-2025 school year said that they benefitted from taking the course.
Studies conducted by Stanford University additionally found that students who took the class were more likely to graduate and receive higher grades than students who did not enroll in the course.
Still, SFUSD in 2025 caved to complaints from parents and alumni groups, including the powerful Friends of the Lowell Foundation, and scrapped the course in favor of a new one: โVoices: An Ethnic Studies Survey.โ After a year pilot, the district is planning to permanently use the new curriculum.
Thereโs still pushback. On April 28, the Friends of the Lowell Foundation sent a letter to the school board arguing that the new course is โunvettedโ and โillegalโ and have sought to meet with Mayor Daniel Lurie to urge him to end it. The mayor does not have control over SFUSD.
This week, Mission Local asked each of the San Francisco school board candidates whether they believe the districtโs once considered pioneering ethnic studies course should have been reformed in the first place. This is how they answered:
Mission Local color codes the answers to yes/no questions. A blue background means the candidate answered yes, an orange background means no, and a yellow background means that the candidate answered ambiguously.
Phil Kim
- Job: Deputy director and chief of staff at the San Francisco Human Rights Commission
- Age: 35
- Residency: San Francisco
- Education: PhD in Education, University of California, Berkeley; masterโs in urban education policy from Loyola Marymount University; bachelorโs in neuroscience from Bucknell University
- SFUSD Experience: Charter school educator, SFUSD administrator and current school board president
I strongly support Ethnic Studies and am proud of SFUSDโs long history of making Ethnic Studies available to our students.
This year, the Board of Education voted to adopt new Ethnic Studies curricular resources, and I supported that adoption. The focus now should be on implementation: ensuring educators receive high-quality professional development, supporting schools in delivering the curriculum effectively, and making sure families and students are aware of the course options available to them. Ethnic Studies should help students better understand themselves, their communities, and the diverse history of our city and country.
Endorsed by: Mayor Daniel Lurie, Senator Scott Wiener, Assemblymember Matt Haney, Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, San Francisco Democratic Party … read more here.
Virginia Cheung
- Job: Nonprofit executive
- Age: 42
- Residency: San Francisco
- Education: Bachelorโs degree from the University of California, Irvine in social ecology
- SFUSD Experience: Parent of child at Alice Fong Yu, former director of Wu Yee Children’s Services
Ethnic Studies should continue evolving through regular community engagement to reflect the lived experiences of students and families and the multicultural, multiethnic history of California and immigration around the world.
Representation shapes who gets to lead, earn opportunity, and thrive. Students are more likely to succeed when they feel seen and connected to what they learn. We should ensure curriculum is culturally affirming, educators are culturally competent, and school leadership reflects the diversity of our communities.
Every child deserves to feel safe, seen, valued, and heard. Every child deserves a voice.
Endorsed by: United Educators of San Francisco, San Francisco Green Party, Supervisor Connie Chan, S.F. Public Defender Mano Raju, Phil Ting, Norman Yee, Eric Mar … read more here.
Brandee Marckmann
- Job: Director of parent-led group
- Age: 53
- Residency: San Francisco
- Education: Bachelorโs in English and French from Central College
- SFUSD Experience: Parent of SFUSD student
No, SFUSD’s homegrown curriculum was overwhelmingly popular and independent research from Stanford University showed it led to huge increases in achievement for many students.
The curriculum was created by SFUSD social sciences teachers and piloted for 5 years at three high schools before being adopted districtwide. Stanford researchers found ‘compelling and causally credible evidence on the power of this course to change studentsโ life trajectories.’
With SFUSD in a deficit I donโt think it makes sense to pay for an outside program when our curriculum has proven to lead to higher attendance, grade-point averages and college enrollment.
Endorsed by: Harvey Milk Democratic Club, SEIU 1021, Supervisor Shamann Walton, Supervisor Jackie Fielder, Dean Preston, Aaron Peskin, Mark Leno, Tom Ammiano … read more here.
Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at marina@missionlocal.com.
You can register to vote via the sf.gov website.