Friends of Lowell Foundation Joins Parents, Civil Rights Groups to Protest Voices Purchase and Demand SFUSD Comply with Law
Coalition Says SFUSD “Pilot” Sidesteps Education Code, Ignores AG Guidance and Risks Civil Rights Enforcement Action
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SAN FRANCISCO, August 26, 2025 - Parents and community groups are gearing up for a 5 p.m. rally against racism at the San Francisco Unified School District Central Office preceding today’s San Francisco Board of Education meeting to approve the purchase of a controversial new ethnic studies curriculum.
The parent rally is being sponsored by the Friends of Lowell Foundation; the All SF Alumni Association, etc. Ad Hoc Coalition; the Asian American Legal Foundation; ConnectedSF; ICAN; PeerK12; and StandWithUs Northern California. It will feature a broad coalition of parents, former school board members, attorneys and national civil rights organizations that are warning against the school board’s anticipated purchase of a controversial, untested ethnic studies curriculum titled Voices: An Ethnic Studies Survey.
The participants in today’s rally argue that imposing a new curriculum districtwide without first completing the public, teacher-majority and community-involved adoption process required by California law is unlawful and unsound.
The SFUSD’s own website confirms that the district has identified Voices, published by Gibbs Smith Education, as its replacement ethnic studies curriculum and calendared Board of Education action to purchase it while deferring a full adoption process until Winter/Spring 2026. That approach raises serious compliance questions.
A record of repeated warnings
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In May, former Board President Lainie Motamedi told the San Francisco Standard she had long raised concerns about the ethnic studies rollout, describing a district that lacked “controls, accountability, and transparency.”
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What the law requires
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AB 101, signed into law in 2021, sets a one-semester statewide ethnic studies graduation requirement, operative only if the California Legislature appropriates funds, which it did not do this year. According to , the bill also directs districts developing their own courses to follow a transparent, public process. The SFUSD did not do this with its homegrown curriculum, which was in use during the last school year.
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The California Department of Education further instructs that when districts use non‑state-adopted materials, selection must be public, well-documented, with substantial teacher involvement and with parent/community participation. Materials should be piloted and aligned to standards, and the district must meet Education Code §60119 “Williams” sufficiency requirements.
In a January 2024 California Department of Justice Legal Alert, Attorney General Rob Bonta reminded districts that ethnic studies must comply with state law and constitutional protections and must avoid “bias, bigotry, or discrimination.”
Federal authorities have repeatedly warned K-12 systems that Title VI prohibits discrimination based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics (including Jews, Muslims, Arabs and others). The U.S. Department of Education’s Nov. 7, 2023 “Dear Colleague” letter and earlier DOJ/OCR guidance set the standard.
Legal experts step in
“While there are many competing opinions about this course, the District cannot ignore state law, federal civil rights obligations or its own policies to appease the loudest voices in the room,” said election-law attorney Jim Sutton (Rutan & Tucker LLP), who represented the FOLF in the 2021 litigation that forced the Board to rescind its Lowell admissions change. As reported in the San Francisco Standard and the San Francisco Chronicle, the judge in that case ruled that the resolution creating lottery admissions had violated California’s Brown Act.
Civil rights concerns
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“For years, the SFUSD has flirted with policies that discriminate against Asian and white students,” said Lee Cheng of the Asian American Legal Foundation. “When a district openly admits its goal was to reduce Asian and white enrollment at Lowell, you don’t just have a policy problem — you have a civil rights violation.”
“The SFUSD is signaling it is above the law and it is a slap in the face to the California Attorney General and U.S. Civil Rights enforcement agencies,” said Christine Linnenbach, attorney and president of the Friends of Lowell Foundation. “The district should immediately suspend its two-semester ethnic studies mandate and return to improving student outcomes.” The SFUSD confirms it requires two semesters of ethnic studies for graduation under BP 6146 — a local requirement that exceeds the state minimum and has intensified scrutiny in a year when the state did not appropriate funds to trigger the AB 101 one-semester requirement statewide.
Why parents are alarmed
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Last year, assignments to SFUSD high school students included “write to Mumia Abu-Jamal,” a convicted cop-killer. There was even a unit listing the Chinese Red Guards among positive social movements. Both examples were reported in San Francisco Chronicle coverage of the SFUSD’s homegrown course.
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National spotlight
Documentary filmmaker Eli Steele’s Killing America: Can Our Nation’s Schools Be Saved? (viewable on YouTube) profiles Bay Area controversies around ethnic studies and antisemitism. Segments highlight how hurried rollouts and ideology in the classroom have backfired.
A community united
The movement is growing and galvanizing. Marie Hurabiell, leader of ConnectedSF, remarked that the growing moment of community involvement is exactly what makes San Francisco so unique. “This is a watershed moment: San Franciscans are united by a simple demand — open, honest, lawful governance.”
Now, the ethnic studies battle in San Francisco has galvanized a variety of communities who have banded together to fight the lawless actions of the SFUSD. Last month, activists from Stop Asian Hate as well as those fighting antisemitism in our public schools rallied together to begin fighting a common goal — to ensure that ethnic studies is not used as a weapon of intimidation and indoctrination in and outside of the classroom.
The combined efforts of those promoting meritocracy and the community fighting discrimination, hate and antisemitism is a powerful combination.
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The pattern of discrimination in the SFUSD is nothing new. Lee Cheng of the Asian American Legal Foundation (AALF) stated, “When a district openly admits its goal was to reduce Asians and whites at Lowell, you don’t just have a policy problem — you have a civil rights violation.”
Concern over the SFUSD’s treatment of its students and faculty is sharpening. Oleg Ivanov, PhD, executive director of StandWithUs Northern California fully supports educating students about the rich diversity of their community and country. However, Ivanov warns, “Ethnic studies courses in the SFUSD and in many other California school districts have promoted bias and bigotry against Jews and Israelis.”
The outcry for review is growing. Ivanov noted, “We urge the SFUSD to lift its ethnic studies graduation mandate until the curriculum has been fully vetted by the Board of Education, in a transparent process that includes public input.”
A statewide issue and districts in denial
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Elina Kaplan, president of the Alliance for Constructive Ethnic Studies (ACES), explained that AB 101 really has caused a firestorm up and down the state of California. “Ethnic studies, as the California legislature intended, is meant to focus on the contributions and accomplishments of ethnic groups, building mutual understanding and respect. While it is important to include struggles and challenges, the course should not be taught through an entire lens of oppression.”
Kaplan noted, “Districts must make sure that ethnic studies, like any subject, meets its intent by vetting the course content thoroughly, transparently and responsibly.”
When asked about the ethnic studies curriculum concerns at the SFUSD Frank Cheung, of the Friends of Lowell Foundation remarked, “We are not alone. Districts up and down the state are fighting similar battles.”
The battle has united parents up and down California. Parents from San Francisco and the Sequoia Union High School District are now working together to highlight patterns of failure in their districts. Lowell alum Dr. Diana Blum, ICAN, the daughter of Russian immigrants, has fought these battles as a Menlo-Atherton High parent and remarked, “Students should never be compelled to accept political ideology in the classroom.”
Repeating the past
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The ethnic studies curriculum battle is a painful reminder of the past. “I lived through ideological indoctrination during China’s Cultural Revolution,” said former SFUSD Commissioner Ann Hsu.
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“It is appalling to see similar methods masquerading as education in 21st-century America.”
Similar observations have been made by other veterans of the fight against the SFUSD’s misplaced priorities. Lope Yap, Jr., graduated from George Washington High School and became a filmmaker. His work includes The Hunter for Red October, and besides working on current film projects he has spent an incredible amount of time advocating for the SFUSD to focus on improving and prioritizing student outcomes. Yap now chairs the All SF Alumni Association, etc. Ad Hoc Coalition and noted, “We must continue to fight for student and educational priorities.
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The SFUSD for decades has focused too much on accommodating ulterior political agendas, tolerating incompetence and failure, to do the right thing.”
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ABOUT THE FRIENDS OF LOWELL FOUNDATION
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The Friends of Lowell Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed in 2021 to make academic merit-based public education available to as many children in San Francisco as possible. More information and donation opportunities can be found at www.friendsoflowell.org and www.facebook.com/friendsoflowell.
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ABOUT THE ALL SF ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, ETC. AD HOC COALITION
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The coalition is an informal organization of alumni of all San Francisco public high schools. The “etc.” refers to members who aren’t officers in alumni associations. The group advocates for common sense in the San Francisco Unified School District.
ABOUT THE ASIAN AMERICAN LEGAL FOUNDATION (AALF)
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The Asian American Legal Foundation (AALF), based in San Francisco, California, was founded to protect and promote the civil rights of Asian Americans. More information can be found at https://www.asianamericanlegal.com.
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ABOUT CONNECTED SF
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ConnectedSF is a community group that promotes civic engagement in San Francisco. It strives to uplift different voices to build common ground and common sense. More information can be found at https://connectedsfinstitute.org.
ABOUT ICAN (Israeli-American Civic/Civil Action Network)
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ICAN was founded in 2018 to empower Israelis living in America and bridge a growing divide between American policymakers and Israel. It engages with American policy makers on shared interests in both domestic and foreign policy arenas, from civil rights and education to defense and foreign policy. More information can be found at https://icanaction.org.
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ABOUT PEERK12
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Founded in 2021, PeerK12 is a grassroots movement operating on the front lines inside school districts by defending Jewish civil rights, fighting extremist agendas, and protecting merit-based education in America’s K-12 institutions. More information can be found at https://www.peerk12.org.
ABOUT STANDWITHUS
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StandWithUs is an international and non-partisan Israel education organization that inspires and educates people of all ages and backgrounds, challenges misinformation and fights antisemitism utilizing interdepartmental resources and legal professionals to defend the civil and human rights of those who align with our mission of supporting Israel and fighting antisemitism. More information can be found at https://standwithus.com.
Media Contact: Quincy Yu, 415.297.6168