Dear CLES Community,

As a new school year begins, we send love and strength to every student, teacher, and family returning to classrooms across the country. This moment should be filled with hope, but we know many are walking into schools shadowed by fear—of political repression, deportations, being silenced, and the heartbreaking violence we continue to see on campuses. We honor your courage, your resilience, and your ongoing fight to make schools spaces of safety, truth, and justice.

This month’s newsletter reflects the power and complexity of that struggle. In California, over 500 of us showed up in Sacramento to oppose AB 715—a deeply harmful bill threatening Ethnic Studies. Despite our strong presence, the bill moved forward, and we now urgently need your voices to stop Governor Newsom from signing it into law.

In contrast, we celebrate a major win in Texas: a new American Indian/Native Studies course has been approved by bipartisan vote and will be available in all districts starting Fall 2025. This is a hard-won victory led by community and student power.

Finally, we invite you to read our featured piece—an inspiring interview with Atlanta educator Sunny Brown—who reminds us why liberatory teaching matters more than ever. “If we want the full history,” she says, “we're gonna have to take control of these schools.”

In Struggle & Solidarity,

The Coalition for Liberated Ethnic Studies

Calls To Action

Urgent Action Needed: Stop Newsom from Signing AB 715 Into Law!

Over 500 people gathered at the Senate Education Committee hearing in Sacramento on Wednesday, September 10th. Our broad and diverse coalition—representing more than 100 organizations—turned out in strong opposition to AB 715, outnumbering the bill’s supporters by a 3:1 margin.

Despite this powerful show of opposition, the committee voted 6-0 in favor of the bill, with only Senator Cortese abstaining. The bill passed the Senate Appropriations Committee the next day; Senator Cabaldon voted no; Senators Grayson and Wahab abstained. Everyone else voted yes. The bill then passed the Assembly and Senate the following day, each with no votes in opposition.

We are deeply grateful to our grassroots supporters who came from across California, many on less than 24 hours’ notice after the final amendments were released and the hearing was scheduled.

We urgently need your help. This is our final push to try and stop Governor Newsom from signing AB 715 into law!

Please take 2 minutes to tell Newsom to not sign AB 715!

This Month’s Feature

Teaching Truth Without Repercussions:

An Interview with Sunny Brown

In a powerful interview with CLES core member Jody Sokolower, educator and activist Sunny Brown shares her frontline experiences as a middle school teacher and college instructor in Atlanta, where she integrates liberatory pedagogy into classrooms under increasing political pressure.

From organizing with Freedom University to protect undocumented students to guiding fifth graders in successful protests for equity, Brown illustrates how students can be empowered to challenge injustice. She critiques the erasure of queer and immigrant voices in leadership and curriculum, while calling on educators to create sanctuary and advocate for systemic change.

“At the end of the day, if we want the full history, we're gonna have to take control of these schools,” she says. Brown urges communities to act boldly: “Run for office if you can, do something, so we can make sure that we're moving the needle the right way.”

Read the full feature here!

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News

• California

  • UC student advocates call for ethnic studies requirement, but institutional barriers remain

  • How an ethnic studies teacher at Roosevelt High inspires students to transform their communities

  • Some S.F. parents worry ethnic studies is divisive. Students say otherwise.

  • UCLA ethnic studies centers’ posters, bulletin boards targeted with vandalism

  • SF School District Won’t Cancel Ethnic Studies, But Pauses Its Homegrown Curriculum

  • PVUSD board overturns votes related to ethnic studies dispute after complaint alleging violations of state law

• Texas

  • SBOE Recap: Some Good News on Charter Schools, Ethnic Studies Elective

  • Texas education board approves Native Studies course, skirting concerns about state’s K-12 DEI ban

• New York

  • “It’s a Direct Attack on Our Identities and Communities”