Dear CLES Community,

The attacks are coming hard, from MAGA extremists trying to erase our history and experiences to politicians pushing fear instead of education, but we are not backing down! In this April newsletter, we’re sounding the alarm on urgent fights in Texas and California, from protecting Native American Studies in schools to stopping California’s AB 1468 assault on liberatory Ethnic Studies.

We’re also equipping teachers with the tools they need to know their rights in the classroom. But make no mistake: the biggest story this month is our victory in Pajaro Valley, where a 20-month, people-powered campaign forced the district to renew Community Responsive Education’s contract and issue a public apology to Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales.

When we organize, we win!

The Coalition for Liberated Ethnic Studies

Calls To Action

Ethnic Studies and community power wins in Pajaro Valley!

After a 20-month grassroots effort led by Pajaro Valley 4 Ethnic Studies & Justice, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) board voted unanimously to renew the contract of Community Responsive Education (CRE), a CLES member organization. The board also voted to issue an official apology to Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales. Thank you to everyone across the country who supported this campaign!

Read more about the fight here and stay tuned for an exciting newsletter feature and podcast episode on this momentous win!

Help us protect Ethnic Studies and teaching Palestine

in California! Oppose California’s AB 1468!

AB 1468 would…

• Create a one-size-fits-all curriculum that’s not Ethnic Studies.

• Is ideological warfare.

• Would add even more policing of Ethnic Studies curriculum, none of it by Ethnic Studies scholars.

• Would substitute multiculturalism for Ethnic Studies.

Read our full statement here.

Take action now! Contact California assembly members before April 30th!

This Month’s Feature

In the Midst of the Storm: Know Your Teacher Rights

As we stand in the crosshairs of MAGA’s attack on K-12 education, the legal rights that protect educators’ ability to teach about liberation and justice depend on our collective political power to defend them. Many of our students are coming to school in a condition of extreme unsafety, with daily threats that the MAGA regime may abduct their parents, take away their medical care and their bathrooms, or assassinate their cousins abroad. The repression targeting teachers is aimed at creating a climate of fear to make teachers afraid to protect kids, and to make kids afraid to ask for what they need to learn.

Courage is as contagious as fear, and we are here to spread courage for our students. At the same time, we want our resistance to be strategic and sustainable. In that spirit, this article provides an overview of students’ and teachers’ free speech rights in and out of the classroom. Please keep it close at school so you can share it with other teachers, administrators, and parents.

Become A CLES Member

Help us continue to fight for liberatory education across the country! From policy, social media, fundraising, or our podcast, there are countless ways to plug in! Submit an interest form today!

Help Us Continue Our Work!

Though we have over 150 individual members and 30 organizational members, we only have one paid part-time staff member! Help us continue to our important work defending and building liberatory Ethnic Studies by donating today.

News & Resources

• 18 Million Rising (18MR) lost $250,000 in funding support from the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund because of their Palestinian solidarity work. So many of us turn to 18MR to lead and support us in Asian American solidarity with Palestine. Give what you can to support 18MR and their fight for movement power.

• Join us for the #TeachTruth Day of Action on Saturday, June 7, to defend the freedom to learn. Event hosts receive resources for activities and displays for their day of action to engage the public in a range of activities at a library, bookstore, city hall, farmers market, festival, or other public spaces. Defend a truthful education and the rights of all of our students, no matter their race, gender identity, or immigration status. Learn more and sign-up.

• East Coast

  • LISTEN: The battle over ethnic studies in NYC schools

  • CUNY Graduate Center Launches Ph.D. and Master’s Programs in Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies

• Hawai’i

  • Trump policies threaten University of Hawaii ethnic studies programs

• West Coast

  • Dems Push for “Educational Gag Order” Over Palestine Lessons in California

  • California Ethnic Studies Bill Aims to Censor Palestine-Related Education

  • SSU among 11 CSUs selected to receive ethnic studies advancement and expansion grants

  • Public invited to review high school ethnic studies course developed for OCDE students, open to all districts

  • Fresno Unified teachers say district is slow-walking ethnic studies launch

  • Three ethnic studies courses added to CUSD high school curriculum

  • Newsom betrays a promise by failing to fund high school ethnic studies classes | Opinion

  • CA Israel Lobby Aims to Police Ethnic Studies-Why? AB 1468: Don’t say Palestine