Ethnic Studies’ credit requirement for freshmen was reduced from ten to five, following the Mountain View-Los Altos Board of Trustees voted 3–2 to reduce the class’s credits from 10 to 5, changing the class from year-long to semester-long. The policy was implemented retroactively, applying to both current freshmen and incoming students.

Current freshmen were allowed to drop the second semester of Ethnic Studies until six weeks into the semester. However, the change sparked confusion among both parents and teachers, as the Board did not release an official statement announcing the drop.

“We don’t normally announce, ‘Hey, you can drop this class,’ Volta said. “If a student inquires about dropping it, we will follow our policy of six weeks for a drop.”

In fact, Superintendent Eric Volta said students were encouraged to complete the full year of Ethnic Studies to ensure they fulfilled graduation requirements.

“We didn’t want to penalize students that transferred into our schools, or failed a semester,” Volta said.

Additionally, freshmen may only have one free period. Students who currently take seven classes but are exempt from PE during their sports season were unable to drop another class without jeopardizing UC/CSU eligibility.

“A mass exit of students out of a particular class would have created other problems for us,” Volta said.

Since the decision was made mid-year, teachers also could not adapt the curriculum for one semester, leaving students with only half a year’s knowledge. 

“Second semester is the on-ramp to AP classes,” Ethnic Studies teacher Katie Kim said. “We are essentially doing the writing, thinking and discussing they’ll be doing next year.”

Despite concerns, only three out of around 100 students dropped Kim’s class. Those who did were left with an additional free period.

“I liked the teacher, but the class felt too easy,” freshman Hailey Theurer said. “When I had the opportunity, I dropped it because it would be a nice free period.”

For Kim, this was also a glimpse into how the course may be structured in the future.

“Health is what’s on the table as a pairing for next year,” Kim said. “There are also proposals for social studies electives, but no final decision yet.”