Published September 04, 2026
CFER joins the lawsuit against San Francisco Unified to challenge ethnic studies mandate
CFER joined Friends of Lowell Foundation, the Asian American Legal Foundation, and Connected SF in a lawsuit challenging the ethnic studies mandate adopted by the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). Filed originally by the Friends of Lowell Foundation, our lawsuit seeks to challenge and invalidate SFUSD Board’s curriculum adoption procedures as improper procedures in violation of the Brown Act, denial of parental rights in reviewing instructional materials, and unlawful use of restricted voter-approved funds.
by
CFER
Some encouraging news as we wrap up the first week of September! On Wednesday (9/3), CFER joined Friends of Lowell Foundation, the Asian American Legal Foundation, and Connected SF in a lawsuit challenging the ethnic studies mandate adopted by the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).
Filed originally by the Friends of Lowell Foundation, our lawsuit seeks to challenge and invalidate SFUSD Board’s curriculum adoption procedures as improper procedures in violation of the Brown Act, denial of parental rights in reviewing instructional materials, and unlawful use of restricted voter-approved funds. While the curriculum raised fierce opposition from parents and negative news coverage, the school board rushed to approve it in April 2026, merely nine months after SFUSD introduced an equally controversial pilot in July 2025.
Represented by James Sutton of Rutan & Tucker LLP, the law firm which previously represented the Friends of Lowell Foundation in another successful lawsuit challenging SFUSD's elimination of Lowell High School's merit-based admissions, this lawsuit is timely and important. With this new coalition of co-plaintiffs including state-wide advocacy groups and local grassroots organizations, we want to demonstrate the broad-based nature of the public outcries against both the ideological hijacking of ethnic studies and SFUSD’s disregard for academic transparency as well as parental rights.
The lawsuit names as defendants: the San Francisco Board of Education, San Francisco Unified School District and SFUSD Superintendent Maria Su. Currently, SFUSD requires that all ninth-grade students complete a two-semester ethnic studies course. The adopted curriculum, entitled Voices: An Ethnic Studies Survey has met intense public criticisms for slanting decisively towards the progressive left.
In suing the school district, we seek to challenge the legality and legitimacy of how this problematic curriculum was adopted. We will prevail in this pursuit. Please stay tuned with us so that we can update you on this case.
Thank you for your continued support and trust!
Contact:
Wenyuan Wu
wenyuan.wu@cferfoundation.org
About Californians for Equal Rights Foundation (CFER):
We are a non-partisan and non-profit organization established following the defeat of Proposition 16 in 2020, with a mission to defend and raise public awareness on the cause of equal rights through public education, civic engagement and community outreach. In 1996, California became the first U.S. state to amend its constitution by passing Proposition 209 to ban racial discrimination and preferences. Prop. 209 requires that “the state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.” CFER is dedicated to educating the public on this important constitutional principle of equal treatment.