CORTINES OPPOSES ETHNIC STUDIES GRADUATION REQUIREMENT

Posted on LA School Report by Craig Clough | http://bit.ly/1dUQcD4

LAUSD Superintendent Ray Cortines

June 4, 2015 4:33 pm  ::  With Superintendent Ramon Cortines voicing opposition to the idea, the future of LA Unified’s plan to make the district the second in the state to require an ethnic studies course as a high school graduation requirement appears to be in doubt.

In a May 8 letter obtained by LA School Report addressed to the Ethnic Studies Advisory Committee that was also sent to the school board and other district leaders, Cortines outlined his view that while he supports the idea of the district offering ethnic studies courses, he does not believe it should be a requirement for graduation. Among the key points of the letter:

•  “Although I am in agreement that schools should be allotted the maximum flexibility in implementing Ethnic Studies, and agree that courses should be made available in our comprehensive high schools, pilot schools, and Options schools;  I do not support the recommendation to make Ethnic Studies a graduation requirement.”
• “Ethnic Studies is not a requirement to gain acceptance nor is it a requirement to graduate from any college institution; therefore, I do not support this.”
• “I believe the timeline to ensure that Ethnic Students courses are provided for students is unrealistic. I agree that some aspects of this work should begin in 2018-2019, but the overall plan to implement what is outlined is not realistic.”
•  The budget implications to implement the plan as proposed is not reasonable for the District.  The District cannot afford to invest $72 million over four years when many other priorities are unfunded and reductions to essential programs have been steadily made over the years.”

The LA Unified school board made big headlines in the fall when it became the second district in the state to require an ethnic studies course be taken by all high school students as a graduation requirement — El Rancho High School in Pico Rivera was the first. But a recent estimate by the district that it will cost $72.7 million — which was much larger than an original estimate of $3.4 million — along with the Ethnic Studies Committee’s recommendation to delay its full implementation makes it likely the school board will be reexamining the issue soon.

Ethnic Studies Now!, a group that helped organize the campaign for the ethnic studies resolution, is planning to stage a protest at the June 9 board meeting in reaction to Cortines’ letter. The board is not scheduled to be voting on any resolutions regarding ethnic studies, according to its meeting agenda.

The Ethnic Studies Committee, which was formed by Cortines as a result of the board’s ethnic studies resolution, is meeting today (Thursday)  and will be discussing a reaction to Cortines’ letter, according to committee member Allan Kakassy.

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from a Facebook posting

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Text of May 8 Letter:

Dear Ethnic Studies Committee Members:

I have had the opportunity to review the draft Ethnic Studies Committee Report and the Committee Recommendations.

The following provides my thoughts concerning the recommendations. Although I am in agreement that schools should be allotted the maximum flexibility in implementing Ethnic Studies, and agree that courses should be made available in our comprehensive high schools, pilot schools, and Options schools; I do not support the recommendation to make Ethnic Studies a graduation requirement.

Ethnic Studies is not a requirement to gain acceptance nor is it a requirement to graduate from any college institution; therefore, I do not support this.

The action proposed does not take into consideration what I have stated publicly on numerous occasions; Ethnic Studies should be embedded into the Pre--‐K through 12th grade curriculum.

If the District does not move in this direction, it is my belief that we will face similar issues that exist with A--‐G in the future. Presently, A--‐G has become a high school issue; however, preparing our students should not begin in high school. The District has not systemically taken into consideration the progress of students in grades K through 3 who are not reading at grade level or meeting other essential learning targets while moving forward with A--‐G.

While I believe that Ethnic Studies will help students better understand their own and different cultures, and provide students with the opportunities to learn about the contributions and sacrifices of others, I believe the District should inculcate Ethnic Studies at the beginning of a student’s educational experience and not impose a new graduation requirement for students at this time.

The following provides thoughts related to selected Options that were provided in the draft report (See p. 3 of 9): Model A: I am interested in further examining Model A as outlined in the draft report; however, not as written.

I am in support of an Ethnic Studies course being developed.

Model B: I support Model B and believe that we should have an inventory of what and where ethnic studies can be embedded into A--‐G classes.

Model D: Some sort of accountability mechanism should be included with this model.

Expected Outcomes: (See p. 5 of 9): I do not support the recommendation that entering 9th grade students in 2018--‐2019 should have to satisfy an Ethnic Studies graduation requirement.

Again, I believe making this a graduation requirement is unreasonable. Ethnic Studies courses should be made available for all students in grades 9--‐12.

Timeline: I believe the timeline to ensure that Ethnic Students courses are provided for students is unrealistic. I agree that some aspects of this work should begin in 2018--‐2019, but the overall plan to implement what is outlined is not realistic.

Budget Implications: The budget implications to implement the plan as proposed is not reasonable for the District. The District cannot afford to invest $72 million over four years when many other priorities are unfunded and reductions to essential programs have been steadily made over the years.

Final Thoughts: I would like to personally thank the Ethnic Studies Committee for their hard work and dedication to develop a plan to implement the Ethnic Student resolution.

Again, I am in support of Ethnic Studies, and believe that acquiring knowledge related to other cultures and ethnicities can lead to a responsible understanding of the contributions and sacrifices of others.

However, at a crucial time in the LAUSD, we must ensure that our decisions that affect students should focus on ensuring that every student is college and career ready.

Ramon C. Cortines

Superintendent

Office of the Superintendent

213--‐241--‐7000