Education

CSU Board Votes to Place Burden of Ethnic Studies Requirement on Community Colleges

Published

6 years ago

November 25, 2020

Kiki

Dr. Alison Wrynn, CSU's Vice President of Academic Programs

California State University took another step toward requiring students to take an ethnic studies class as part of their lower-division coursework, a move that would also have significant implications for the state’s 115 degree-granting community colleges.

During the 23-campus system’s Board of Trustees meeting on November 20, the educational policy committee voted 9-2 to make a minor amendment to a policy approved in July that would have required students to take a course in ethnic studies or a class with a social justice component.

To comply with AB 1460, a new law requiring students to take a class in ethnic studies, the amended policy stipulates that students must complete the requirement by taking a class in one of four ethnic studies disciplines: Native American studies, African American studies, Asian

American studies or Latina and Latino studies. A class deemed to have a social justice component that falls outside those disciplines would not fulfill the requirement.

The Board did not make revisions to the policy requested by faculty, who want greater control over implementing the new requirement. Faculty groups called on the Board to establish that the class could be fulfilled as either an upper- or lower-division course, but the trustees did not take that step on November 17.

Now, students are likely to be required to complete the class in the first half of their coursework. Because many students take those lower-division classes at community college before receiving an associate degree and transferring to CSU as part of a specialized pathway, it would shift the responsibility to community colleges to offer ethnic studies to those students.

That would be a significant financial burden to those colleges, many of which don’t currently offer any ethnic studies classes.

The CSU chancellor’s office says it is still finalizing the implementation plan for the new class and has not officially determined that it will be a lower-division class. However, Michael Uhlenkamp, a spokesman for the chancellor’s office, said in a statement to EdSource that “it is our preference to have the requirement be a lower-level” requirement.

“We are hoping to have that guidance to share with the campuses in the next few weeks,” he added.

CSU faculty groups want individual campuses to have greater flexibility over how to implement the requirement and do not want to restrict students to taking the class in their lower-division coursework.

CSU’s Academic Senate, the official body representing faculty on system-wide issues, last week passed a resolution urging the Board of Trustees and the chancellor’s office to revise the proposal and establish that the requirement could be met as an upper- or lower-division class.

CSU’s Council on Ethnic Studies, which laid the groundwork for AB 1460, also took that position, as did the California Faculty Association, the union representing faculty across the system.

“We are looking to the CSU Board of Trustees … to exercise its oversight of the Chancellor’s Office and demand freestanding graduation requirement, allowing upper or lower division Ethnic Studies courses,” said Kenneth Monteiro, the former dean of San Francisco State’s College of Ethnic Studies in a statement. Monteiro is also the chair of the CSU Council on Ethnic Studies.

The chancellor’s office argues that it would not make sense to give campuses autonomy for implementing AB 1460.

“Unlike a campus requirement, a system requirement must be consistent across the 23 campuses,” Alison Wrynn, CSU’s associate vice-chancellor of academic programs, said during the meeting.

If the class is indeed implemented as a lower-division requirement, it would create significant costs for the state’s community colleges that offer associate degrees.

Under that plan, the class would become part of CSU’s general education requirements. Students who transfer to a CSU campus from community college as part of the Associate Degree for Transfer pathway are required to complete those requirements at community college. About 14,000 students transferred to a CSU campus on that pathway this fall.

Aisha Lowe, the community college system’s vice-chancellor of educational services and support, previously told EdSource that it would cost up to $45 million in new spending for the system to offer the required courses to those students.

Most of that spending would be to hire new faculty. Lowe estimated that about 40 colleges currently do not offer any ethnic studies classes, and said that those that do will likely need to offer more of those classes to satisfy all students.

The law goes into effect beginning with students graduating from CSU in 2025. That means that students who enter college next fall will be the first class subjected to the requirement. For those students to be able to complete the requirement by their second year of college, the community college system would need to have the ethnic studies classes available by Fall 2022.

Kiki

Posts by Kiki | Website

Up Next

Progressives Win in School Board Elections – Oakland and Richmond

Don't Miss

Mayor Announces Affordable Housing Pilot Program for 12 New Teachers

Kiki

Click to comment

Bay Area

How Is AI Affecting California? The State Wants You to Share Your Story

The program marks the first time the state has opened the platform to all Californians. State officials said the effort is designed to give residents a direct role in discussions about how AI should be regulated and used as the technology rapidly expands across industries.

Published

4 weeks ago

May 17, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced May 7 that California is expanding its Engaged California digital democracy initiative statewide, inviting residents to help shape future state policies on artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on jobs and the economy.

“We’ve got to be clear-eyed about this moment: AI is moving fast, bringing enormous opportunity, but also real risks,” Newsom said in a statement. “Californians deserve a seat at the table as we shape what’s to come.”

The initiative will roll out in two phases. Beginning immediately, Californians can sign up online to share how AI is affecting their work and communities and provide ideas for possible government action. Later this summer, a smaller group reflecting the state’s workforce demographics will participate in live discussions focused on developing policy recommendations.

State officials said the goal is to identify areas of agreement among Californians and provide policymakers with public feedback as the state develops future AI regulations and workforce strategies.

Engaged California is modeled after digital democracy programs used in Taiwan and is intended to encourage structured public discussion rather than social media-style debate. Officials described the effort as a form of “deliberative democracy” aimed at helping residents engage directly in state decision-making.

“The more Californians are engaged in the democratic process, the better able we’ll be to confront the challenges we face together,” said Nick Maduros, California Secretary of Government Operations, in a statement.

The statewide launch builds on two earlier pilot programs. One pilot gathered public input following the Los Angeles firestorms to help guide recovery efforts, while another collected ideas from state employees about improving government operations.

California has positioned itself as a national leader in AI policy and development. Since 2023, the Newsom administration has introduced initiatives focused on responsible AI use in government, cybersecurity protections, workforce training and regulations targeting risks such as deepfakes and AI-generated robocalls.

The state has also partnered with companies in Silicon Valley — including NVIDIA, Google, Adobe, IBM and Microsoft — to expand AI education and workforce training programs across California schools and universities.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Advice

Book Review: Books for College-Bound Students

The kind of workday your Grandpa had is probably over, and you can’t count on toiling at the same place for 40 years for a pension and a gold watch. You already know that, and these books will help you decide your next step. You’ll learn what kind of worker you are, what’s stopping you from finding a job or occupation you’ll love, how to determine the purpose you envision for your future, and how to get where you need to be.

Published

4 weeks ago

May 17, 2026

Oakland Post

Book covers. Photo courtesy of Terri Schlichenmeyer.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Authors: Various, Copyright: c.2026, Publishers: Various, SRP: $21.00 – $29.00, Page Counts: Various

The videos and news reports were inspiring.

In them, a hesitant prospective college student became a happy, new college-bound student with the click of a key. They were accepted into the college of their dreams – so how can you get the same feeling next spring, when you’re the one with the highest of hopes?

You can start by reading these great books and sharing them with your family…

You probably already know that getting into the college of your choice is not something you do last-minute. In “The People’s Guide to College Applications: A Week-by-Week Approach to Writing, Connecting, and Getting in” (Prometheus Books, $ 21.95), Jill Constantino takes you through each step, but not in a frantic way. There’s no pressure here, just easy-to-grasp, makes-sense methods to apply for the college you want. There are reminders here, things you can’t forget and things you can, hints on asking for referrals and writing essays, and plenty of reminders to take a deep breath. Bonus: it’s also a book for parents, who may feel just as much pressure as their child does.

Okay, but let’s say that you’re an adult, a parent who’s sweating those college applications, classes, and the FAFSA for yourself, ugh! Then you’ll want to read “Student Parent: The Fight for Families, the Cost of Poverty, and the Power of College” by Nicole Lynn Lewis (Beacon Press, $26.97). an urgent call meant for nontraditional students who are also Black, Latinx, gay, Moms, or Dads.

Inside this book, you’ll find stats and stories that may already sound familiar, tales of not enough money, not enough support, not enough arms or sleep or resources. If you’re looking for a book of advice, this isn’t it, though. It’s more of a resource that you’ll want to take to your guidance counselor or any local politician.

Alright, but what if you’ve decided that college can wait? Is that okay? Look for “The Mission Generation: Reclaim Your Purpose, Rewrite Success, Rebuild Our Future” by Arun Gupta and Thomas J. Fewer (Wiley, $29.00) because – guess what? – you have many options for your future.

The kind of workday your Grandpa had is probably over, and you can’t count on toiling at the same place for 40 years for a pension and a gold watch. You already know that, and this book will help you decide your next step. You’ll learn what kind of worker you are, what’s stopping you from finding a job or occupation you’ll love, how to determine the purpose you envision for your future, and how to get where you need to be. This book isn’t just for high schoolers, but for anyone ages 16 and beyond who’s feeling restless, ready for change, or who’s thinking about some kind of purposeful retirement.

And if these aren’t the college-based or not-college-bound books you need, then be sure to ask your favorite bookseller or librarian for help on ideas, how-to’s, test prep books, or study guides. They’ll have books for you, and maybe a little inspiration, too.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Arts and Culture

Against All Odds: Mary Jackson’s Journey to NASA Engineer

Jackson’s life took a significant turn when she was offered the opportunity to work in a wind tunnel, a facility used to test the effects of air moving over aircraft structures. It was here that her passion for engineering truly took flight. However, there was a challenge: to become an engineer, she needed to take advanced courses that were only offered at a segregated high school.

Published

4 weeks ago

May 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Mary Jackson. Public domain.

By Tamara Shiloh

When we talk about breaking barriers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the name Mary Jackson deserves a place at the top of the list.

Jackson was born in 1921 in Hampton, Virginia, a place that would later become central to her groundbreaking work. From an early age, she showed a strong aptitude for math and science—subjects that, at the time, were not widely encouraged for African American women. But Jackson was not one to be limited by expectations. She earned degrees in mathematics and physical science from Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), setting the foundation for a career that would change history.

Before joining NASA, Jackson worked as a teacher and later as a research mathematician at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the agency that eventually became NASA. Like many African American women of her time, she began her career as a “human computer,” performing complex calculations by hand. It was in this environment that she worked alongside brilliant minds like Katherine Johnson, forming part of a powerful group of African American women whose calculations helped launch America into space.

Jackson did something truly remarkable. She petitioned the city of Hampton for permission to attend those classes. She didn’t accept “no” as an answer. And she won.

In 1958, Jackson became NASA’s first African American female engineer.

But Jackson’s impact didn’t stop there.

Later in her career, she chose to step away from her engineering position—not because she couldn’t continue, but because she wanted to make a difference. She moved into roles focused on equal opportunity, working to ensure that women and minorities had access to the same opportunities she fought so hard to get.

Jackson’s story gained wider recognition through the book and film Hidden Figures, which highlighted the contributions of African American women at NASA. But long before the spotlight found her, Jackson was doing the work—quietly, persistently, and brilliantly.

Jackson retired from Langley in 1985. Among her many honors were an Apollo Group Achievement Award and being named Langley’s Volunteer of the Year in 1976. She served as the chair of one of the center’s annual United Way campaigns and a member of the National Technical Association (the oldest African American technical organization in the United States).

She and her husband Levi had an open-door policy for young Langley recruits trying to gain their footing in a new town and a new career. A 1976 Langley Researcher profile might have done the best job capturing Mary’s spirit and character, calling her a “gentlelady, wife and mother, humanitarian and scientist.”

For Jackson, science and service went hand in hand.

She died on Feb. 11, 2005, at age 83, at a convalescent home in Hampton, Virginia.