The Mountain View–Los Altos Union High School District Board of Trustees voted 3–2 on Oct. 27 to require one semester of ethnic studies as a graduation requirement, following a lengthy public hearing that drew dozens of teachers, students, parents and community members.

The vote followed more than two hours of public comments in which teachers and students argued the course builds critical thinking, belonging and academic skills, while some parents and other community members said the course lacks consistent curriculum and academic rigor and should be shortened or made elective.

“Ethnic studies is good for students. The data speaks for itself,” said Sofia Carmango, a longtime teacher, adding that she believes the course has helped lift students’ performance across subjects. Kevin Hyken, a social-studies teacher who co-created the district’s ethnic-studies program, told the board he favored a yearlong ninth-grade social-studies experience because it helps prepare students for sophomore AP coursework. “Sophomore AP teachers have stated time and time again how crucial it is to have a full year of skill building freshman year,” Hyken said.

Students and recent graduates who supported the yearlong course described classroom moments when they said they finally saw themselves reflected in the curriculum. “Ethnic studies helped me understand my history and create empathy,” said Eliana Tekier, a Mountain View High School sophomore.

Opponents stressed inconsistent materials across classrooms and cited the district’s student survey results in which a majority of respondents favored a single-semester course. Several parents described specific instructional examples they said were divisive or politically charged. “My daughter told me, ‘I was uncomfortable that we had a whole unit that was about anti‑Trump,’” said one parent who spoke during public comment.

After discussion, Trustee Alex moved to adopt option C1 — a single required semester of ethnic studies — and Trustee Vadim seconded. The motion carried 3–2. The board did not adopt a local yearlong requirement and instructed staff to return at the next meeting with revised graduation-policy language and implementation details, including how the change would affect master scheduling and course staffing.

Superintendent Volta and district staff told trustees they would work with the social-studies department to present recommended course offerings that could fill students’ schedules (examples discussed during the meeting included human geography and other year‑one electives) and to clarify how health and other required courses would be scheduled.

What the board decided and what comes next

- Action: Board adopted option C1 (require one semester of ethnic studies). Motion passed 3–2. Trustees directed staff to draft specific policy language and scheduling plans and return to the board.
- Timing and policy: Trustees instructed staff to prepare an updated graduation‑requirements policy for a future meeting; the board did not specify in the motion the first graduating class to which the revised requirement will apply and asked staff to include implementation timelines in the forthcoming policy report.
- Department work: The social‑studies department will be asked to propose elective offerings and staffing plans to ensure students retain access to a broad menu of courses.

Why it matters

Trustees and many speakers framed the debate as a trade‑off between curricular depth and student flexibility. Supporters said a yearlong ethnic‑studies class helps historically underserved students feel seen and builds transferable writing and analysis skills; opponents said mandating two semesters at a district that already exceeds state social‑studies credit expectations limits students’ choices and risks inconsistent instruction if curricular materials vary by teacher.

Provenance

topicintro: transcript start 3387.825 — "We'll start with Sofia Carmango." topicfinish: transcript end 13629.555 — board votes to adopt C1. Excerpts supporting this article include the district public hearing beginning at 00:56:27 and the board discussion and vote at 03:47:09.

Speakers (attributions used in this article)

- Sofia Carmango — teacher (public commenter)
- Kevin Hyken — social studies teacher, Mountain View High School
- Eliana Tekier — Mountain View High School student (sophomore)
- Trustee Alex — Trustee, Mountain View–Los Altos Union High School District (name used in meeting)
- Trustee Vadim — Trustee, Mountain View–Los Altos Union High School District (name used in meeting)
- Superintendent Volta — Superintendent, MVLA

Authorities

- Hanover Student Survey (referenced in public testimony and district materials)
- Stanford University research (cited in public testimony)

Actions

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Clarifying details

- Student survey: the district reported mixed results; the board requested that staff and the social studies department use the Hanover student survey and other data to refine the curriculum and assess outcomes over time.
- Curriculum variability: multiple public commenters said ethnic-studies lessons differ by teacher and asked for district-level curriculum alignment and review.
- Next board steps: staff will present updated policy language and implementation timelines at a subsequent meeting.

Proper names

[{"name":"Mountain View–Los Altos Union High School District","type":"agency"},{"name":"Mountain View High School","type":"school"},{"name":"Los Altos High School","type":"school"},{"name":"Hanover Institute","type":"organization"},{"name":"Stanford University","type":"organization"}]

Searchable tags: ["ethnic studies","curriculum","student survey","MVLA","graduation requirements","social studies"]