Updated on May 21
The board governing San Francisco’s public schools voted 6-1 on April 28 to permanently adopt the district’s trial ethnic-studies curriculum for high schoolers, capping years of controversy and significant concerns from Jewish parents and community organizations.
The vote makes permanent “Voices: An Ethnic Studies Survey,” a textbook and related teacher guide that the district has piloted during this school year as a replacement for its homegrown curriculum, which came under fire for materials that some Jewish families described as antisemitic and anti-Zionist. Among the contested lessons were an activity in which students role-played as Israeli soldiers herding Palestinians into refugee camps and a presentation that used antisemitic caricatures to illustrate Jewish stereotypes.
Throughout the school year, the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area reviewed the new curriculum’s content and gave its input to the San Francisco Unified School District.
“Based on our review of the content, we don’t have any immediate concerns,” Allison Barnes, JCRC’s assistant director of public education, told J. in an email. “However, we’re keeping a close eye on how the curriculum is rolled out and ultimately implemented in the district. Our hope is that the process remains inclusive, but we recognize this is a complex moment requiring vigilance.”
The new textbook takes a markedly different approach to Jewish content than its predecessor. According to nonprofit news outlet The Frisc, which obtained access to the textbook through a public records request, it includes a section on Jewish American history covering immigration, discrimination against Jews and the role of Jews in liberation movements. The textbook also explicitly warns against the rise of 21st-century antisemitism. It does not mention Israel, Palestinians or the conflict between them — a departure from previous course material. J. has not independently reviewed the textbook’s contents.
Superintendent Maria Su has indicated that the omission of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was intentional. In an interview with J. last summer, Su said the new curriculum would not include discussions about the conflict as it had been taught before Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Some parents who were granted limited access to the materials said they think the Jewish representation is inadequate, that the curriculum implies all Jews are white and that the discussion of antisemitism was insufficient.
“It’s not teaching historically accurate information,” Michelle, a Jewish parent of a high school student in SFUSD, told J. “My family’s ethnicity is under-represented in this curriculum.”
During its pilot year being taught, many Jewish families say they have felt alienated by the district’s decision-making.
Viviane Safrin, founder of the nonprofit SF Jews in School, said Jewish students have felt isolated and harmed by the current curriculum — “with some Jewish students dropping out of the course entirely,” Safrin said in an email to J.
“We have more work to do. It is disappointing that SFUSD rushed to fully adopt ‘Voices’ without taking the time to vet and pilot curricula aligned to what our legislature intended,” Safrin said.
The April 28 board meeting was contentious. After a Jewish parent voiced criticism of the curriculum, shouting disrupted further public comment, and board president Phil Kim ordered two adults ejected before the vote.
Board member Supriya Ray, who cast the sole dissenting vote, had previously raised concerns about transparency in the curriculum selection process, noting she had not been given full access to the textbook before being asked to approve it.
Scott Kravitz, a Jewish parent who served on the district’s curriculum review committee, told the board ahead of the vote that the textbook is organized “around grievances and division” and said critics on the committee felt sidelined during the vetting process. “Any concern we raised was treated as evidence that we weren’t on board with the mission,” he said at the meeting. “This board deserves an honest review, not a rubber stamp.”
The adoption of the curriculum comes after federal civil rights investigators opened inquiries into SFUSD and two other Bay Area districts over their handling of antisemitism complaints.