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California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a bill that requires students of the California State University system, the largest public four-year university system in the country, to take a course of study ethnicities to graduate.
The Democratic governor signed AB 1460, which was proposed by assembly Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, his office said in a statement.
The law “reflects 50 years of advocating by students, faculty and the community for a curriculum that is reflective and responsive to our diverse state,” Weber tweeted.
In July, the board of trustees of California State University, which oversees the system comprising 23 campuses across the state, voted to include a course in ethnic studies and social justice as requirement.
It was pointed out at the time that this action by the trustees was broader than the requirement that is now the law, because the plan approved by the trustees also allowed social justice courts.
“The university will start working to implement the requirements of the new legislation,” Mike Uhlenkamp, a spokesperson for the chancellor’s office of the CSU, said Monday.
From the 2021-2022 academic year, the system must provide for ethnic studies and from the 2024-2025 academic year, undergraduates will be required to take a three-unit course in ethnic studies as a condition of obtaining of the diploma, according to the law.
He defines ethnic studies as focusing on Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latin Americans.
When the CSU board approved its own plan in July, Chancellor Timothy White said it was “based on ethnic studies, but broader, more inclusive, gives students choice “, according to the Associated Press.
Supporters of the bill said the plan approved by the trustee was weaker than the law.
The California Faculty Association, which backed the bill, tweeted that Newsom’s signing on Monday was a historic moment.
He says studies have shown that students from all walks of life have an interest in taking an ethnic studies course.
The system-wide Academic Senate for CSU has warned that the legislature getting involved in setting degree requirements “could ultimately mean that the government curriculum replaces faculty expertise as the basis for curriculum decisions.” according to an analysis of the bill.
CSU’s website says it educates about 482,000 students each year. The CSU system announced in May that it planned to offer most of its classes for the fall practically due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Associated Press contributed.
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