Mountain Empire Unified School District 9th grade ethnic studies course includes critical race theory, critical consciousness, and lists selections from the 1619 Project as content resources.

On May 13, 2025, the Mountain Empire Unified School District approved a 9th grade ethnic studies course that includes critical race theory, critical consciousness, utilizes selections from the 1619 Project, and culminates with “Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)” otherwise known as student social justice activism.

The board minutes state that it is a “semester-long Ethnic Studies course aligned to the California Model Ethnic Studies Curriculum and History/Social Science content standards” and “emphasizes inquiry-based learning, primary source analysis, and student voice.”

Course objectives state that students will examine “constructs of race, culture, ethnicity, and identity,” will explore “personal identities and the intersectionality of how race/ethnicity, gender, nationality, and
culture shapes one’s identity,” and will “Empower students to be culturally conscious and active members of their communities.”

Course key terms include “critical race theory,” “critical consciousness,” “colonization,” “intersectionality,” “systems of oppression,” “systemic racism,” “classism,” “sexism,” “privilege,” “school-to-prison pipeline,” and “white flight,” “white supremacy.”

The course utilizes Newsela for unit resources. These resources link to documents such as the 1619 Project and other far-left articles and content.