…But advocates – as well as school districts and even courts – have pushed back, arguing that criticizing power structures, including foreign governments, drives ethnic studies and is not discriminatory. Last year, a Palo Alto school district refuted parents' claims that its ethnic studies course was politically radical, while a judge threw out the case brought against LA ethnic studies educators on the grounds that "learning about Israel and Palestine" does not constitute "injury".
Teachers have pushed back, too. In April, Chloe Gentile-Montgomery, a Bay Area ethnic studies teacher who was placed on leave for allegedly including antisemitic material in a slideshow concerning Israel and Palestine, sued her former school district. Gentile-Montgomery claims racial discrimination and failure on the part of her employer to protect her from harassment from students and parents. While other teachers in the district taught about Israel and Palestine without consequence, Gentile-Montgomery, who is Black, was "singled out" and targeted, according to the lawsuit.
Asserting that she has seen no convincing evidence of prejudice levied against ethnic studies educators, Gallagher-Geurtsen said that these incidents are examples of antisemitism being conflated with criticisms against a foreign government – with the latter being a perfectly acceptable exercise for high schoolers to undertake, she said.
"Curriculum that makes you feel uncomfortable does not violate your rights," she said...