Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday requiring all 430,000 California State University undergraduates to take ethnic studies, a notable rebuke to the university’s governing board, which had passed its own, much broader requirement last month.
The decision comes amid a growing push for ethnic studies in public education following Black Lives Matter protests and calls to dismantle systemic and unconscious racism, starting in schools.
The bill signed by Newsom, AB 1460, requires all CSU undergraduates to take at least one three-unit course in ethnic studies, defined as having a focus on African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino/a Americans and Native Americans.
Authored by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus and a longtime professor of Africana Studies at San Diego State University, the legislation will go into effect beginning with students graduating in the 2024-25 academic year.
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