California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill on Sept. 30 that would have required all high school students in California to take an ethnic studies course to graduate. The closely watched bill would have mandated the courses beginning in 2029-30. In his veto statement to the legislature, Newsom noted that while he is a proponent of ethnic studies courses in general, he believes fixes are needed for the proposed curriculum set forth in Assembly Bill 331.
“Last year, I expressed that the initial draft of the model curriculum was insufficiently balanced and inclusive and needed to be substantially amended. In my opinion, the latest draft, which is currently out for review, still needs revision,” he wrote.
