During the Jan. 21 meeting, the PAUSD Board of Education approved merging the Biology and Honors Biology courses for next school year and unanimously supported a Gunn and Paly staff-led initiative to offer multivariable calculus on campus beginning in the 2026-27 school year, which will be formally proposed in September and voted on in Jan. 2026. During a special meeting held on Jan. 23, the board passed an ethnic studies course that will be required for the incoming class of 2029-30. Both agenda items were passed with a vote of 3-2 after discussions between community speakers, teachers, students, and board members.
Biology ‘delaning’
The new curriculum, developed independently by biology teachers, will focus on building science and engineering practice—or skills such as media and text literacy—through engaging with content and laying the foundation for future courses. This change does not impact other science courses, which will remain laned due to a higher dependency on a student’s math skills.
In 2018, the science department, with funding from Superintendent Dr. Don Austin, adapted all curricula to meet the state-mandated K-12 science framework, the New Generation Science Standards. According to biology teacher Joshua Little, after implementing it in 2022, biology teachers across the district noticed that students in different lanes experienced similar course challenges.
“This is the first time where the entire biology department agreed that this is what’s best for our students,” he said. “We did all this extra work for the students, and we wanted to bring (it to life).”
Incoming high school students and parents expressed concerns about a lack of academic rigor and course freedom. However, teachers argued that removing lanes will decrease pressure and encourage more students to continue through the science pathways. Additionally, the content from previous years will still be available for those looking for a challenge.
“These extension materials aren’t graded, so students can push themselves without the mindset that it needs to be perfect,” Little said.
Multivariable calculus
For the past few years, accelerated math lanes have been a heated topic in the district. Due to a significant number of student comments during previous open forums calling for a multivariable calculus course, the item was introduced to the agenda. Paly Assistant Principal Rebecca Shen-Lorenson and Gunn Assistant Principal Harvey Newland proposed collaborating with Foothill Community College instructors to provide students who have completed Advanced Placement Calculus BC with a multivariable calculus course for credit. According to Shen-Lorenson, there are currently 69 non-seniors eligible to take the course next year.
However, speakers argued that in the current pathway, which calls for students to independently register in the Foothill course, not only are enrollment numbers limited, but it also interferes with extracurriculars. At its core, the course challenges the district’s promise for equity, bringing into question whether to encourage academic acceleration or focus on supporting struggling students.
“We are one of the top school districts in the state, so we should act like it,” Paly junior Diana Sanderson said during the board meeting. “Don’t cut off opportunities for students who are only trying to further their education.”
Ethnic studies requirement
Although ethnic studies was removed from the regular meeting agenda, the board voted on implementing the course as a graduation requirement. Even without a state mandate, the board moved forward with this proposal due to increasing community support. Austin initially tabled the item due to a lack of government funding, general discourse over included content, and a recent update from Gov. Gavin Newsom that indicated the course is not yet a graduation requirement.
During the meeting, the boardroom was filled to capacity. Added security measures were implemented, and officers supervised a long line outside. Supporters of the curriculum raised signs displaying “Ethnic Studies Now,” which were countered by “Trust and Transparency” from those in opposition.
According to PAUSD Associate Superintendent Dr. Lucio Guillermo Lopez, the course was developed using the “inclusive model,” a state-created curriculum that examines California’s four main minority ethnic groups: Black African Americans, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asian Pacific Islanders, and Latinos.
Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Danae Reynolds highlighted the need for students to understand historically marginalized groups not as a form of pushing a political viewpoint, but rather to foster community and develop critical skills.
“To continue to impose a colorblind, melting-pot, mixed-salad framing is like doing algebra without considering all the variables,” Reynolds said. “This undermines critical thinking and historical understanding and limits civil discernment.”
While all board members expressed support for a required ethnic studies course, opinions differed on the included content and timeline. Parents and board members also conveyed concern over a lack of transparency in the planning process.
After school board Vice President Shounak Dharap proposed implementing the course and discussing “progress indicators” on March 25, 2025, new board member Josh Salcman made the deciding vote, approving the course. This decision also includes a new, condensed world history course that will be taught during the second semester of freshman year.
While board member Rowena Chiu and PAUSD parents proposed keeping the course as a one-semester elective, teachers argued that the curriculum targets skills, such as identifying bias and analyzing historical texts, that are foundational for other history courses. The four units are Identity; Power, Privilege, and Systems of Oppression; Resilience and Resistance; and Action and Civic Engagement.
Beginning in 2022, with board encouragement, social studies teachers and district administrators worked on a ninth-grade curriculum. This year, Paly and Gunn both ran co-taught pilot classes. Participants were drawn from a lottery of students who had expressed interest or had been recommended by their eighth-grade teachers. Student response was overwhelmingly positive, with freshman Quinn Boutin highlighting the inclusive curriculum.
“Moving to the Bay Area, I became part of a community that’s incredibly diverse,” Boutin said. “This class helped me better understand the experiences of my classmates—experiences I didn’t fully appreciate before. It also made me reflect on my own identity and privilege in ways I never had.”
Austin also shared his experience from the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Group, which held its first in-person meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Due to a full agenda on Jan. 21, student comments from the meeting were tabled to the next board meeting on Feb. 11.
From 5-7 p.m., students from all three PAUSD high schools—Gunn, Paly, and Palo Alto Middle College High School—gathered at JLS to discuss the topics of artificial intelligence in the classroom environment, cell phone policies, Evidence-Based Grading, and attendance zoning. While Austin had organized a similar event in 2019, it was revived by Paly’s C-Magazine staff members, juniors Talia Boneh, Amalia Tormala, and Sophia Zhang.
“We were writing an article called ‘The Bay Area Bubble’ for C-Mag, and we saw one of Dr. Austin’s weekly letters where he talked about how he went to Middle College and talked to students about their experiences,” Tormala said. “We found it really enlightening, and in talking to him, we realized it would be cool to establish a more regular way for students to communicate with the district.”
