California Require Ethnic Studies Class to Graduate from Public State Universities Initiative (2026)
| California Require Ethnic Studies Class to Graduate from Public State Universities Initiative | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Higher education governance |
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| Status |
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| Type Initiated state statute |
Origin |
Not on the ballot
The California Require Ethnic Studies Class to Graduate from Public State Universities Initiative (#25-0003) is not on the ballot in California as an initiated state statute on November 3, 2026.
The initiative would have required students to complete a course in ethnic studies in order to graduate from California State University.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[2]
| “ | Increases ethnic studies requirements for graduation from the California State University. Initiative statute.[3] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:[2]
| “ | Under current law, undergraduate students at the California State University (CSU) must complete one three-unit ethnic studies course to graduate. This measure would change CSU’s graduation requirements to require, beginning in the 2030-2031 academic year: (1) undergraduate students to complete two ethnic studies courses (one three-unit lower division course and one three-unit upper division course); and (2) graduate students to complete one three-unit ethnic studies course. Prohibits the Legislature from reducing the number of required courses for graduation or altering required course curriculum.[3] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the measure can be read here.
Path to the ballot
An initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are 21 states that allow citizens to initiate state statutes, including 14 that provide for direct initiatives and nine (9) that provide for indirect initiatives (two provide for both). An indirect initiated state statute goes to the legislature after a successful signature drive. The legislatures in these states have the option of approving the initiative itself, rather than the initiative appearing on the ballot.
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated state statute is equal to 5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval. The requirements to get initiated state statutes certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures: 546,651 valid signatures are required.
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification is June 25, 2026. However, the secretary of state suggested deadlines for turning in signatures of January 12, 2026, for initiatives needing a full check of signatures and April 17, 2026, for initiatives needing a random sample of signatures verified.
Initiative #25-0003
- March 26, 2025: The initiative was filed by Emeka Ogbatue.[4]
- May 30, 2025: The initiative was cleared for signature gathering.
- November 26, 2025: The campaign did not file a sufficient number of signatures by the circulation deadline.[2]
See also
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California Attorney General, "Full text #25-0003," accessed March 27, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed January 24, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ California Attorney General, "Initiatives Pending Review," accessed November 26, 2024
