California's effort to implement ethnic studies in public high schools has encountered controversy due to its handling of the Israeli-Hamas conflict. The state aims to introduce ethnic studies by 2025, with the goal of providing a diverse cultural education for its nonwhite majority student population. However, disagreements have arisen over the curriculum's focus on race and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The state's 700-page model curriculum has faced criticism for its leftist, activist approach and exclusion of discussions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This has led to the emergence of a competing vision called "liberated ethnic studies," which aligns more closely with college-level teaching but has sparked debate over its political implications. The differing approaches have led to lawsuits and a broader discussion about how to incorporate activist concepts into high school education. The controversy has also drawn attention from other states planning to introduce K-12 ethnic studies, shaping the future of education nationwide.