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San Francisco high school students, particularly those with high needs, enrolled in ethnic study courses achieved higher GPAs, stronger academic gains in math and science, and failed fewer courses, according to a new report.聽

A from the universities of Pennsylvania and California analyzed a longstanding San Francisco Unified School District ethnic studies program, piloted in 2010, that has since enrolled thousands of students and become a graduation requirement in 2024.

An ethnic studies course is a history class centered around the culture and experiences of diverse students, which has proven to be especially beneficial for vulnerable and high need students because of its 鈥渃ulturally relevant curriculum,鈥� said Sade Bonilla, an associate professor of education policy at the University of Pennsylvania and co-author of the report.聽

鈥淭he intention is to affirm students’ identities, 鈥� and to increase their engagement with the materials and content by giving students an opportunity to see themselves reflected in the curriculum,鈥� Bonilla said.

In San Francisco, for example, a school district made up of nearly 50,000 students with a聽majority identifying as , curriculum has included lessons about housing discrimination, schooling segregation and how Mexican-American and Chinese children were not allowed to attend particular schools in California, Bonilla said.聽

A new standardized curriculum was approved after complaints about the course being 鈥渁ctivist driven,鈥� reported KQED, a local NPR station. President Donald Trump has also made similar criticisms about diversity, equity and inclusion practices in K-12 classrooms.

Using data from 10 cohorts of students from grades 6 to 12 between the 2007-08 school year to 2022-23, Bonilla and her colleagues said the study is the first to provide evidence about the academic impact of ethnic studies enrollment in a district-wide expansion.

Drawing on that found curricula that reflect student backgrounds not only can promote , but also improve , the researchers found enrollment in ethnic studies courses can improve a student鈥檚 GPA by 0.17 points and significantly reduce course failures across a school system.

The grade point boost resulted in 15% more students achieving a 3.0 GPA and becoming eligible for admission to the University of California, the report said. Researchers also found that all student groups benefited from enrollment, 鈥渨ith particularly strong effects for lower-performing students, male students, Black and Latinx students, and students receiving special education services.鈥�

Bonilla and her colleagues found the course is especially effective for students entering high school.

Coined 鈥�,鈥� the transition between eighth and ninth grade is often challenging for students as they鈥檙e exposed to a new environment and more difficult coursework, in addition to cognitive, emotional and physical changes. Students fail ninth grade more than any other grade, according to the , and other ninth graders have the lowest GPAs and most missed classes, behavior referrals and failing grades. 

Teenagers entering high school are often 鈥渕ore likely to be aware of news, events, policies. Some might experience discrimination or stereotypes for the first time, at the same time of this identity formation happening,鈥� Bonilla said. 鈥淓thnic studies provides them language to talk about what they might be witnessing, experiencing and noticing about how society works. 鈥� It’s not leaving students deflated that the world is unequal and unjust. It’s [instead] saying here’s some things that one can do about it, and how to participate in civic life in productive ways.鈥�

Engaging students early, around ninth grade, paid off throughout the rest of their academic careers, the report found.

Ninth grade students who never took the ethnic studies class experienced a 鈥渘oticeable GPA decline,鈥� whereas the students who took the class did not. The study also reported students with the lowest eighth grade GPAs, below a 2.0, benefited from the class the most, with a 0.17 point increase as those with GPAs between a 2.0 and 3.0 saw gains of about 0.12 points. 

While all students saw academic improvement, gains were largest among Black and Latino students, who saw GPA increases of 0.23 and 0.25 respectively and male students, who saw a 0.19 GPA increase on average, compared to female students who improved on average by 0.15 points.

English language learners and students with disabilities also saw improvements in their GPA by 0.19 and 0.17 points respectively. 

鈥淎lthough [ethnic studies] courses centered the experiences of communities of color, students from all racial and ethnic backgrounds benefited,鈥� the report said. 鈥淎cross core subjects, [ethnic studies] enrollment increased GPA in all areas, with the largest improvements in math (0.27 points) and science (0.20 points).鈥�

The San Francisco school district has seen a steady increase in enrollment in ethnic studies classes, from 3.5% of all high school students in its pilot year to 13.4% in 2022-23, but the report stated it鈥檚 unclear whether other districts will follow, despite its benefits.

California became the first state to require ethnic studies as a graduation requirement and more than a handful of states 鈥� including , and 鈥� have adopted mandates such as requiring schools to offer similar coursework. 

The California graduation mandate has with funding, which could be a challenge for widespread expansion for other states too.聽

鈥淟egislating a high school requirement and not providing any additional funding means that districts would need to reallocate their spending of the money that they have,鈥� Bonilla said. 鈥淚n this fiscal environment, 鈥� being able to support the implementation of any new initiative is going to be challenging.鈥�

In Jan. 2025, Trump signed calling to end 鈥渞adical indoctrination in K-12 schooling,鈥� and threatening to pull federal funding to schools if they taught 鈥渄iscriminatory equity ideology鈥� or any lessons that 鈥渢reat individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups.鈥�

Even before Trump鈥檚 order, states have pushed back against comparable coursework, with more than 聽including Arizona, which in 2010 Mexican American studies; Tennessee which certain concepts around race and racism in 2021; and Florida, whose leaders successfully advocated teachings in Advanced Placement鈥檚 African American studies in 2023.

But ethnic studies courses have 鈥渘ot been widespread,鈥� Bonilla said, adding that many states that have restricted these types of classes never really offered them in the first place.

鈥淏y banning this type of curriculum [in states like Tennessee] 鈥� we鈥檙e not necessarily taking things away from those students because many students didn鈥檛 have access to this type of curriculum in the first place,鈥� Bonilla said.

The challenges across the country 鈥渞eally underscore and speak to the importance of the local role in education,鈥� Bonilla added. Families in San Francisco had to advocate for the ethnic studies offering and other communities could follow suit.

鈥淚t wasn’t something that the district decided to offer because they thought it would be good for students, but was actually from community groups and students and parents advocating to the school board,鈥� Bonilla said. 鈥淟ocal districts [and] schools have a lot of power to advocate within their local school boards to make decisions about what meets the needs of [their] students.鈥�

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