By Minh Ngoc Le
Starting with the Class of 2030, high school students will be required to take a semester-long ethnic studies class to satisfy state graduation requirements – offered at Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) under the name “Origins of Community.” Assembly Bill 101, signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in October of 2021, will make California the first state to require ethnic studies as a high school graduation requirement.
According to Assembly Bill 101, ethnic studies courses must be offered in schools starting in the 2025-2026 school year, serving as a pilot year before the course becomes a graduation requirement for the Class of 2030.
Origins of Community explores how communities worldwide have been shaped by social, cultural and historical influences. Taught by U.S. Government and World History teacher Darios Felix, the interdisciplinary course builds on the global perspective developed in World Geography, helping students examine how different groups have responded to inequality throughout history – highlighting their experiences through the local lenses of Orange County.Contest Winners
“Our job as adults is to provide as many perspectives as possible. [Students] then get to decide, with all the knowledge that you gain and the exposure to different perspectives, what your beliefs are and how you want to proceed in the future,” Orr said.
Despite not receiving state funding to support the program for the fiscal year, Origins of Community is currently being offered at all six school sites around Huntington Beach Union High School District.
For the 2025–2026 school year, ninth-graders were able to choose between Introduction to Art, World Geography and Origins of Community as the elective taken alongside their mandatory Health course – a semester-long graduation requirement – either in the fall or spring.
While Ethnic Studies courses are available at local colleges, including Orange Coast College (OCC), Golden West College and all California State Universities per Assembly Bill 1406, options to fulfill this requirement through dual enrollment remains undetermined.
“[Origins of Community] is a different class than your typical, traditional ethnic studies class that you would get at a community college. When we started down this path five, six years ago, I actually enrolled in an OCC ethnic studies course. It was a great course, but I just felt we could do more for our students,” Assistant Principal of Curriculum Brenna Orr said.
Pioneering the curriculum, Felix aims to integrate lessons delving into not only the various stories of Fountain Valley, but also the history of FVHS. Inspired by his childhood experience exploring Orange County with his grandfather, Felix hopes to give students a similar opportunity to discover the complexities of the community they live in.
“[My grandfather] would tell me all sorts of stories about how things were when he was growing up during the [Great Depression]. He would talk about the segregation in the area, old restaurants and all landmarks that are gone now,” Felix said. “Those stories often seemed exaggerated until I got older and did my own research, and discovered this whole other layer to the community where I grew up.
The addition of Origins of Community marks an increase in California’s high school graduation requirements, adding to the existing courses of Health, U.S. Government and Economics, with a potential financial literacy requirement pending district implementation under state legislation.
“We’re doing everything we can to integrate these courses so that they don’t add additional burden into student schedules. That is our number one priority,” Assistant Principal of Guidance Casey Harelson said.
