The Visalia Unified School District adopted its Ethnic Studies framework in March 2024.

The Ethnic Studies Committee recommended that the Board of Education adopt Voices: An Ethnic Studies Survey, published by Gibbs Smith Education (GSE), for program implementation at a total cost of $77,244.61.

The textbook Voices “examines the experiences and contributions of Indigenous, Black, Latino, Pacific Islander, and Asian Americans.” As part of the course, “students will learn the terms and tools they need to analyze the impacts of race and ethnicity in US history and the present day.”

Voices is written by scholars in the fields of black studies and Latino studies and “examines the histories and cultures of historically marginalized groups in the United States.”

“With the goal of equipping students with the skills and knowledge they need to identify and overcome oppression, Voices provides a counter-narrative to US history and dives into stories of discrimination, resistance, and resilience,” the textbook summary reads.

Key concepts include: race, ethnicity, intersectionality, bias, discrimination, Indigenous resistance movements, strategies used by Latino activists, colonization, diversity in the media, and how systemic racism impacts marginalized people today.