Whereas, Resolution 9.03 F20 Ethnic Studies Graduation Requirement [1] and Resolution 9.04 F20 Clarify and Strengthen the Ethnic Studies General Education Requirement were approved by the delegates at the 2020 Fall Plenary Session, and in July 2021 the California Community Colleges Board of Governors approved Title 5 §55063 [2] to include the Ethnic Studies Requirement that “Courses offered from ethnic studies disciplines engage students in dynamic and rigorous instruction through discipline-specific theoretical lenses that teach them about the history, expressions, and contributions of the diverse cultures that make up California and the U.S. and also how to engage in a critical analysis of these cultures in relation to each other and to society overall in order to understand and address how they are impacted by such things as systemic racism and classism”;
Whereas, The California Community Colleges Chancellor Office’s June 9, 2022 FAQs on Ethnic Studies provides guidance and clarification in the Ethnic Studies Requirement that was supported by the Board of Governors, as, per Board of Governors (BOG) President Pamela Haynes, the BOG “voted on the ethnic studies requirement as a means to help ‘break down barriers to equity’ by placing ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion…and anti-racism at the heart of our work’” and this requires true experts in African American studies, Chicana/o/x Latina/o/x Studies, Asian American studies, or Native American studies to teach ethnic studies course core competencies; and
Whereas, Title 5 § 55063 (e) (3) Minimum Requirements for the Associate Degree states, “Satisfactory completion of a transfer-level course (minimum of three semester units or four quarter units) in ethnic studies. This requirement may be satisfied by obtaining a satisfactory grade in a course in ethnic studies taught in or on behalf of other departments and disciplines”; and
Whereas, An Academic Senate for California Community Colleges’ February 2022 Rostrum article spells out the importance of hiring faculty as prescribed in the 2022 Minimum Qualifications Handbook [3] and clearly states, “Some disciplines at colleges faced with a scarcity of faculty have attempted the single course equivalency solution. Although reasons for desiring to circumvent the regulations may stem from understandable difficulties, such problems are no excuse for hiring someone who is not qualified to teach in the discipline. Individuals hired as faculty members, both full-time and part-time, are expected to have the expertise to teach the range of courses in the disciplines for which they were hired”;
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges urge local academic senates and curriculum committees to appropriately assign ethnic studies courses offered “in or on behalf of other disciplines” to ethnic studies disciplines, specifically the appropriate autonomous core disciplines of ethnic studies, to remain consistent with the Minimum Qualifications Handbook.
M/S/C
1. Resolution F20 09.03 Ethnic Studies Graduation Requirement: https://www.asccc.org/resolutions/ethnic-studies-graduation-requirement.
2. Proposed Revisions to Title 5, Section 5506 Minimum Requirements for the Associate Degree (Ethnic Studies Requirement): https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/cccchan/Board.nsf/files/C44RX3700FBB/$file/revisions-to-title-5-55063-a11y.pdf
3. Minimum Qualifications Handbook (2022). https://www.cccco.edu/-/media/CCCCO-Website/About-Us/Divisions/Educational-Services-and-Support/Academic-Affairs/What-we-do/Curriculum-and-Instruction-Unit/Minimum-Qualifications/cccco-2022-report-min-qualifications-a11y.pdf?la=en&hash=C250C473024B24162799C9E64C787EF7E50DC5C6. pp. 7, 27, 30, 38, 45 & 2 p. 26