Poway board removes ethnic studies from required graduation coursework after public comment

After an extended public-comment period that included multiple members of the public urging removal, the Poway Unified School District board voted to adopt revised graduation policy that removes ethnic studies as a required graduation course beginning in the 2029-30 school year.

Several community members and written commenters told trustees they opposed making ethnic studies a graduation requirement. One commenter stated, "We should not be providing the racist and politically polarizing ethnic studies course at all, much less making it a graduation requirement," and another urged the board to "spend public money wisely and focus on academic success." A parent speaker requested explicit removal of the clause that would add a semester of ethnic studies beginning in 2029; the speaker cited Education Code 51225.3 in remarks submitted to trustees.

Board discussion covered process and suggested edits; trustees noted that several policy changes before the board were routine updates following a California School Boards Association (CSBA) policy release. On the motion to adopt the packet of policy updates (which included the change to 6146.1 removing the ethnic-studies requirement), a trustee moved and a second was made; the board approved the set of policies unanimously.

The board president confirmed the final action removed ethnic studies from the listed graduation requirements in the district policy document. The revised policies will return as required for formal adoption and implementation steps; administrators said they would communicate next steps and timelines for curricular planning and stakeholder engagement.