Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Curriculum topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parent group asks Palo Alto Unified to pause ethnic-studies revamp, cites board-policy process
Summary
The Palo Alto Parent Alliance delivered a 1,400-signature petition asking the board to pause changes to the district's ethnic studies course until the board follows its own policies on standards and community input; the alliance asked for a meeting with district leadership.
A parent group on June 4 asked the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Trustees to pause planned revisions to the district's ethnic-studies course and to follow board policies requiring community input before adopting academic standards.
"We delivered our petition, now signed by 1,400 people, asking you to pause revamping PAUSD's ethnic studies course until you follow your own board policies," the group's representative said during public comment, citing board policies 60-11 (community input on academic standards) and 61-41 (the board's role in adopting written district curriculum).
The speaker, identified in the agenda as representing the Palo Alto Parent Alliance, said the alliance requested a meeting with district leadership (the superintendent and board president) and that the board president declined in favor of an email response that did not address submitted questions or errors the group identified in the district's ethnic-studies FAQs. The speaker left written material for the board.
Why it matters: the parent alliance framed its request as procedural -- asking the board to follow its stated policies on standards and curriculum adoption -- and asked for direct engagement before curriculum changes move forward. Trustees did not take action on the request during the meeting; the item was recorded during open forum.
Context: The Alliance requested explicit adherence to board policies on adopting academic standards and written curriculum with community input. The public comment occurred alongside other open-forum remarks on accessibility, special education, and school safety.
Next steps: No formal response or vote was taken on June 4; the alliance said it will continue to seek a meeting with district leaders and shared a written response to the district's ethnic-studies FAQs with board members.
