Carlsbad

Carlsbad Parents Divided over New High School Ethnic-Studies Class

The class will be required for freshmen enrolling in the Carlsbad High School Film Academy and be offered as an elective for upperclassmen

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An ethnic studies course has been approved for high school students in North County, dividing parents who were vocal about the move Wednesday during a meeting with the Carlsbad Unified School District Board of Trustees.

Leaders of the Carlsbad Unified School District voted unanimously in favor of introducing the class to students in the Carlsbad High School Film Academy for the 2023-24 school year. Named the Film Academy Ethnic Studies (FAES), the course’s learning objectives will be divided into six components that include:

  • Understanding identity, race, ethnicity, intersectionality, culture and racism
  • Hollywood’s representation of stereotypes and their impacts
  • Effects of cultural appropriation in the film industry
  • Early contributions by people of color in the film industry
  • Impact of various social movements on people of color in the film industry
  • Emerging voices of people of color in the film industry

The district’s Board of Trustees said the class will be required for freshmen enrolling in the film academy and be offered as an elective for upperclassmen.

Parents of students in the school district were divided on the decision and made their voices heard Wednesday.

“There is a lot of racism happening on our campuses and kids are saying they didn’t know better. This course will teach them to know better," said Stephanie Wells.

Opponents of the new class expressed concerns over the course’s root concepts. Scott Davison from the Carlsbad Education Alliance, a group of parents, students and teachers from the Carlsbad Unified School District, said he was worried that “critical race theory” components would be shared with students.

“We would be very concerned that even though they say they aren’t going to teach it, if it’s in there, they are going to be teaching it,” Davison said.

Although the class has been green-lit, the curriculum has not yet been approved. At this time, the Carlsbad Unified School District Board of Trustees is seeking input from the community before the curriculum is written. It only has about six months to complete the curriculum before the fall semester.

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