Arizona Schools' Ethnic Studies Program Ruled Illegal

PHOENIX -- An administrative law judge ruled Tuesday that a Tucson school district's ethnic studies program violates state law, agreeing with the findings of Arizona's public schools chief.

Judge Lewis Kowal's ruling marked a defeat for the Tucson Unified School District, which appealed the findings issued in June by Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal.

Kowal's ruling, first reported by The Arizona Daily Star, said the district's Mexican-American Studies program violated state law by having one or more classes designed primarily for one ethnic group, promoting racial resentment and advocating ethnic solidarity instead of treating students as individuals.

The judge, who found grounds to withhold 10 percent of the district's monthly state aid until it comes into compliance, said the law permits the objective instruction about the oppression of people that may result in racial resentment or ethnic solidarity.

"However, teaching oppression objectively is quite different than actively presenting material in a biased, political and emotionally charged manner, which is what occurred in (Mexican-American Studies) classes," Kowal wrote.

The judge said such teaching promotes activism against white people, promotes racial resentment and advocates ethnic solidarity.

Huppenthal has 30 days to accept, reject or modify the ruling. If he accepts the judge's decision, the district has about 30 days to appeal the ruling in Superior Court.

"In the end, I made a decision based on the totality of the information and facts gathered during my investigation – a decision that I felt was best for all students in the Tucson Unified School District." Huppenthal said in a written statement.

Messages left for a district spokeswoman Tuesday night weren't immediately returned. In the past, district officials have said they can't afford to the financial hit that Huppenthal's decision would bring.

The battle over the ethnic studies program escalated shortly after Arizona's heavily scrutinized immigration enforcement law was passed in April 2010.

The program's supporters have call challenges to the courses an attack on the state's Hispanic population, while critics say the program demonizes white people as oppressors of Hispanics.

Huppenthal ordered a review of the program when he took office in January after his predecessor, Tom Horne, said the Mexican-American Studies program violated state law and that Huppenthal would have to decide whether to withhold funding.

Huppenthal, a Republican, had voted in favor of the ethnic studies law as a state senator before becoming the state's schools chief.

Comments

[abhorson]

03:57 AM on 08/16/2012

they should move this wonderful program right across the border in Mexico ... along with all its attendants .. and teachers... and staff...

[cdterm47]

07:20 PM on 01/07/2012

This problem is what is to be expected from Safe Haven cities such as Tuscon, Los Angeles and San Francisco to name a few. This problem is exactly why the 11 million illegals must be deported.

[cdterm47]

07:17 PM on 01/07/2012

Ben Franklin identified as a racist by this school. Enough said about the loyalties of illegals regarding the United States.

[kati m]

05:58 PM on 05/19/2012

Shut up. What did any of the founding fathers do for the indigenous people of this land besides steal the land they lived on (respectfully and sustainably at that), decimated their populations with disease and cold blooded murder (genocide) while not standing behind a SINGLE treaty agreed upon and force the remaining people to take on the white life with less rights and privileges while tearing apart families and tribes and stripping them of their language, culture and even sterilizing people in the Native American boarding schools. They don't teach us this in our educational system because they're embarrassed of it and they should be. What a shame; and to take away something for these students, immigrants or not, to connect and identify with is disgusting. These '11 million immigrants' SUPPORT THE ECONOMY. Kick them out, see what happens. Over-privileged too good for everything white people won't dirty themselves to pick your produce in the heat of California. I hope you know that the United States government BROUGHT THESE IMMIGRANTS INTO THE COUNTRY to do that slave labor so you can afford tomatoes and broccoli for 50 cents a pound since you use all the rest of your money on your mortgage and payment on your giant SUV and all the gas is takes.

[abhorson]

03:58 AM on 08/16/2012

great... thanks for the 50c labor... now go back to the 1c labor and cart-board boxes you had before...

[Anthony McLean]

08:35 AM on 01/02/2012

The Latino is much more racist than the Caucasian White because the Latino are White also. Look at CNN, TELE Mundo, etc. do you see any Black people there.
The Hispanic Latino's are on a Imperialisted move to take over all other cultures, their quest is to, like Christopher Columbus, take over the America as theirs.
Heed my warning.
The Blacks are fools to support the Latino's because in Latin America all Blacks are cast into the back, invisbilized and demonized.
I'm from Panama and I can tell you about it.

[frankg3400]

01:09 AM on 01/04/2012

Absolutely, they scream about being indigenous and it's their right, but look how they treat and cast aside the truly indigenous of their countries.

[AlternateReality]

02:08 PM on 12/31/2011

Imagine that, the last state to recognize MLK day as a national holiday now uses an ALJ to say that ethnic studies is racist....lol....when will the white man ever learn.

[frankg3400]

01:11 AM on 01/04/2012

When will the Mechistos, stop lying when getting caught red handed. If the MAS was truly about ethnic studies would be one thing, but it's not and was never intended to be by the machistos on the school board and the people who created the program.

[Rhonnybay]

06:18 AM on 12/31/2011

I've always said that America has an identity problem. Who we are has never matched with how we brand ourselves and our ideology about freedom. Race/Culture has always been an issue in this country. Assimilation has been pushed from day one yet we love our Constitution which says we are free NOT to assimilate culturally (freedom of speech). "White/European" is the standard for beauty, education, etc. America has to define itself and then support that definition.

Racism will also be around unfortunately. I think there is a divide on how "racism" is viewed. I don't think some whites see it as systemic and institutionalized so they are now quick to scream "reverse racism" when the "system" is still systemically biased for them.

No school should teach one race is better than the next but we should learn about the contributions of all people and we don't. I learned about Black History via my parents. Black history month and other heritage months are for ALL people to take the time to learn THEIR history. These activities are inclusive of all people but just focusing on one marginalized group.
Children do better with having some ethnic pride. Look it up. Showing a child that he/she has contributed greatly to the world allows for that child to hope.

[mjp1003]

12:00 PM on 12/31/2011

Just a couple of comments, with regard to "White/European" being the standard for beauty, this is at no fault of the US. In Asian countries, beauty is defined but physical characteristics that resemble Caucasian characteristics. Having big/round eyes & thinner/smaller noses. In Latin countries, having lighter skin, blond hair or blue eyes is also a standard for beauty. These stereotypes are not being imposed upon by the US. They are ingrained within these cultures and it’s a choice to continue to follow them.
As for teaching children differently, we as parents need to teach equality. The positivism needs to start somewhere and the resentment needs to end somewhere. By no means am I saying that we have a perfect society and that unfairness does not exist, but to continue teaching children that we live in constant oppression, that we have to fight against the race of the country in which we choose to live in is no way to be a good parent, a good educator…a good society!

[frankg3400]

01:13 AM on 01/04/2012

Well said!

[actionldp]

04:06 AM on 05/11/2012

Action speaks much louder than words. The problem is that hispanic parents that are/were raised in America have no idea what the real Mexican-American history is. Just because we live in America doesnt mean that you should lose your roots. We have to embrace our own culture too. Every single person brings a special uniqueness about themselves. We don't get educated about different cultures in High School. I know for myself, being born and raised here, I have felt that as a hispanic I have felt in so many instances the duty to prove myself, just to be accepted in society. Most hispanics are shy not confident & thats because we can't be who we are. We are Americans because we have been born and raised here with American culture, but we also want to be ourselves.We love our parents, if we lose our personal identity we lose our parents. How do we honor them? I would never want to forget about my parents or about their struggles. If we disregard our other language, culture & heritage we lose ourselves. It would be so boring, if we were all the same. Its nice to see & learn about different cultures. I try to learn when I meet other people. It is always so interesting to learn about different culture. The reason that ethnic education is good, she because so many students benefited. Hispanics learned to be confident and to gain some dignity, because we are constantly being judged by others,-

[John Raiche]

04:56 PM on 12/31/2011

" Showing a child that he/she has contribute­d greatly to the world allows for that child to hope."

Did you mean "Showing a child that people of his/her ethnic group have contributed..."? Because that is MUCH different than what you said. A person is not defined by the things that their "people" have or have not done.

[luz2409]

12:21 AM on 12/31/2011

This is really sad. I am a Raza Studies and Cinema major and I would not be where I am had it not been for programs like Ethnic Studies that supported me and showed me people like myself that I could look up to. I think it's sad that Latinos wanting to learn their history is considered racist. Anyone can take a Chicano Studies/Latinos Sudies class and the non-Latino people I've been in my Raza Studies classes with have told me that they really enjoyed the classes and learned a lot. America is a melting pot and we should support learning about eachother's histories.

[markspence]

02:58 PM on 12/31/2011

Mexican-American studies are fine in the rest of the state, aren't they?

It's just Tuscon where the problem exists.

[frankg3400]

01:14 AM on 01/04/2012

Exactly!!!

[Aaron Watkins]

11:56 PM on 12/30/2011

The reconquista mentality that is taught in these schools to overthrow the government and that White people "took our land" is dangerous, historically ignorant, and should not be tolerated.

It is also quite interesting that they idolize the war-like and mass killing Aztecs who built an empire by stealing the lands of neighboring tribes but that somehow the US taking lands from Mexico is different. Or the Mayans who set up a system of bloody system of tribal tributes and war like suppression of the various tribes in their empire.

That even though there were more native americans (Pima, Navajo, etc) living in the newly acquired US lands than Mexicans that somehow this was "their land"? How does that work? The land in question was a part of the country of Mexico (before that it was Spanish) for approximately 25 years and has now been part of the US for 150. The natives of the US land are NOT the natives of Mexico but rather the natives that are still there (on reservations and who have a FAR MORE REAL claim to the land). Certainly there can be found inter tribe relationships and even cases of tribes migrating, but generally it was not "Native Mexican" land-ever. One interesting case is the town of Guadalupe, AZ which was founded by the Yaqui Indians who were murdered and chased off their land by the Mexican government in the late 19th century.

[luz2409]

12:26 AM on 12/31/2011

I am a Raza Studies and Cinema major and I can tell you that Ethnic Studies is not at all about taking back land or overthrowing the government. It's just about learning our history. Half of Mexico was taken by the United States. They did not pay Mexico a fair amount for the land and after the Treaty of Guadalupe was signed in 1848 the Mexicans living in the United States were forced off of their land and never paid a dime. That happened to my family. It's not about being angry but Latinos have a right to know the truth about our history and I think it actually promotes peace when people can be proud of who they are and where they come from.

[TggerJen]

11:06 AM on 12/31/2011

Only one program at one school district has been found in violation of Arizona state law and that program teaches exactly what Aaron Watkins was describing in terms of 'land-stealing' (but only by Whites) and hatred. The suggestions for revising and improving the courses to ensure that they are academically supporting all Hispanics and addressing ethnic histories of all Hispanics rather than teaching a politically-charged version of Mexican American history are reasonable and appropriate but have been rejected by the MAS people at TUSD who are pushing a despicable agenda onto young school children.

One parent was reading aloud from the text for one class at a school board meeting. A school board member asked her to stop reading because the language used in the text was inappropriate for the audience in the room. Apparently it's acceptable to use that language with children in public school classrooms but somehow not acceptable to read those same public school materials out loud in a public school board meeting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6obixztvgII

Most ethnic studies programs and classes are like what you describe, but this one is very different. Even the other programs at TUSD (African-American studies, Native American studies, Pan Asian studies) are entirely legal and are continuing without any interruption and indeed with little notice. The MAS classes can still be taught at TUSD if TUSD is willing to forego state tax dollars in order to keep hateful curriculum that's not even taught by regular school faculty.

The suggestions made by one school board member to revamp the program to work better for the students, to work for more of the students there, and to comply entirely with state law was rejected out of hand by the people running MAS. Those reasonable and appropriate suggested are described in an op-ed: http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/article_d2b4b44b-5709-5d7a-b810-fac7f4eb5e3e.html

He suggests that: "The program should broaden its focus to all of TUSD's Hispanic students, including students of Central and South American origin. The broader program could be called Hispanic Student Services."  Why shouldn't students with ethnic roots outside of Mexico be able to learn about the history of their ancestors?

He also suggests that: "TUSD should reduce administrative overhead across all four ethnic studies departments to get more resources directly into academic support. Those support programs should also be held accountable for improving students' academic performance." I can't find anything wrong with that suggestion either.

[mjp1003]

12:08 PM on 12/31/2011

If they are so proud of who they are and where they come from, why do they choose to come live in the enemy's land? That is the way I hear people viewing the "white man", as their enemy, their oppressor. Then why choose to come live here (legally or illegally)?

[AlternateReality]

01:26 PM on 12/31/2011

Next you'll be telling us that slavery was justified because African Kings sold their people to the Europeans....lol. You have a very inaccurate view of the past. The land in the Americas was and always will be Indian land. You can not rewrite history nor change the past. But the truth is, the Arizona land was and still is Indian land.

[markspence]

02:59 PM on 12/31/2011

Everything you say is true - in your version of reality.

[Aaron Watkins]

11:56 PM on 12/30/2011

Whose land is whose? Whoever has the land has the land and that is the truth all over the world.

[luz2409]

11:56 AM on 01/02/2012

Again, it's not about the land, it's just about knowing our history. The past is the past and 99.9% of Mexicans feel that way. I don't have one friend or professor in Raza Studies that is advocating for getting our land back. As a teenager I felt totally lost in the public school system because I felt I wasn't learning anything about my history and I think most non white people feel that way, so it's vital for us to have a way to teach everyone a little about themselves since America is a melting pot.

[BruntLIVE]

07:19 PM on 12/30/2011

Arizona will be the spark for Civil War II: home invasions, misery, entire community take over.

[Aaron Watkins]

11:23 PM on 12/30/2011

It is already at the forefront of an invasion by illegal aliens. Millions have crossed through Arizona and decimated entire communities only to have the US government and both parties ignore it for cheap labor and the latino vote.

[luz2409]

11:59 AM on 01/02/2012

That's a very crazy thing to say. We can all work towards peace, it doesn't have to be that way. People are freaking out just because Latinos want to have the right to know their own history. It's weird how all these conservative people that are all about freedom and liberty don't even think people deserve the freedom to know their own history.

[Silver63]

01:47 PM on 12/30/2011

The 1960s was a turbulent decade in American history, fraught with conflicts over isssues from Civil Rights to the war in Vietnam. The Mexican American Civil Rights Movement, one of the least studied social movements of the 1960s, encompassed a broad cross section of issues—from restoration of land grants, to farm workers rights, to enhanced education, to voting and political rights. There has been a in-depth history related to the relationship between "White" America and Hispanics of all nationalities, not just Mexico in the regards to civil rights. Changing the views of people who perceive Hispanics racially and negatively can be resolved by understanding the culture and social values. Many people are not educated or simply do not wish to learn about Hispanic culture that separates the social and economic needs of a united community. The value of education has failed to incorporate mandatory second languages and learning about diverse cultures during early education. This continued failure to incorporate these educational necessities within our education system is a constant influence of negative opinion and reaction. We have a responsibility to educate our children, and adapt to the growing need for educating diversity and language. By the year 2050, over half of all Americans will be from diverse cultures. Educating our children and future generations will invite and establish the unity of community that divides us today.

[Karissa36]

04:21 PM on 12/30/2011

I don't think most people want to eliminate ethnic studies. There were extreme problems with this one school district's MAS program. (Note that all the other school districts in Arizona continue to teach MAS, and were neither challenged by the State, or affected by this decision.) Follow some of the links cited in other comments, especially the one to the YouTube video of a parent reading from this one school district's MAS texts to the local School Board.

In part, the texts advocated that Hispanics overthrow the U.S. government, and repeatedly vilified all White Americans as racist evil Oppressors of Hispanics. The texts taught that democracy itself was inherently wrong and based on greed, and Hispanics should fight in America to overturn this system of government. The Hispanic controlled School Board had plenty of notice that this was unacceptable and illegal from the State Board of Education, and refused to change their program to comply with State law.

It is illegal in Arizona for a public school to teach in a manner that engenders hatred towards one race, or advocates the overthrow of the U.S. government. As it should be.

[luz2409]

12:05 PM on 01/02/2012

Have you read those texts? Latinos have suffered a lot of racism under the whites and the U.S yet when we talk about this, they turn it around on us like suddenly we're the racists. How come a black person can talk about how slavery was wrong but we can't talk about how getting half of our land stolen was wrong? I am a Raza Studies major and I have never, ever seen anything in my textbooks advocating taking our land back ( I certainly would not support that) and I have never heard any of my professors say anything racist. I have nothing against white people or America, Mexican Americans suffered a lot of injustices in the past but that's history and just because we are aware of our history doesn't make us racists. You seem like a reasonable person and their may be truth to what you're saying about that particular program. But please just know that most Ethnic Studies programs were just created to give people a little exposure to their history and knowledge about their culture so that they can be proud. Studies have shown that African Americans and Mexican Americans who have been exposed to Ethnic Studies have much higher success rates and perform better on standardized tests from everything from English to Math. I really think it's a good thing for our society as long as we're careful never to exclude anyone.

[Karissa36]

11:39 AM on 12/30/2011

Moderators,

Kindly note I will send a complaint to Huff management if my comments are not posted. For anyone who would like to do the same, go to the very bottom of the page, click "contact us", and an email form for that purpose will be on the linked page.

Thank you.

[red2012]

11:04 AM on 12/30/2011

People are afraid of the truth. They do not want to hear that racism is still alive and they do not want to hear that greed and corruption are the root cause of all of the pain and suffering of today. So instead of the truth we create textbooks that simply promote American exceptionalism (like Texas) and we eliminate Ethnic Studies. America is a great country, there is no denying that, but we are not going to move forward unless we embrace the truth and try to create a better tomorrow. Some people are more willing to embrace their misfortunes than to wake up and smell the coffee. The only way you can wake up and smell the coffee is through education and we prefer to mask the truth in our schools.

[Karissa36]

04:39 PM on 12/30/2011

"People are afraid of the truth. They do not want to hear that racism is still alive and they do not want to hear that greed and corruption are the root cause of all of the pain and suffering of today."

This is not truth. It is a political statement, and one very few Americans believe in. Teaching history is one thing. Teaching that minority children today are victims, and all social ills are the fault of others, has no place in public schools. It also is not teaching history. It is an extremely biased and inherently polarizing view of America today.

We don't teach American children to hate other Americans, and blame them for all their troubles. This one school district in Arizona was doing exactly that, and refused to change. None of the other MAS programs in the State were affected in any way by this ruling. Just this one district.

[AlternateReality]

01:39 PM on 12/31/2011

And who are you to determine what is the truth? Heck you wouldn't know the truth if it kicked your teeth in. Racism is alive today! Just as it was in in the 1970's when the U.S. Govt forced sterilized thousands of "native americans". Go ahead, let me see you defend this as not an example of racism. And you're wrong about what "you" teach your young....when you sit about the dinner table and speak ill of blacks, latinos, mexicans, et.al...you are teaching them to hate and be racist.

[luz2409]

12:07 PM on 01/02/2012

RIght on!

[timetelltime]

10:27 AM on 12/30/2011

Equality in education has always been a threat to the white supremacy lie. The extent of this threat is exposed with the fear of minorities having tools that will remove the free ride that the racist receives with the teaching of hate and the "race" lies. The racist would like to continue promotes "smart white skin" while disallowing others to have fair competition which would expose the welfare package that is known as racism for the racist.

[alpina]

02:27 AM on 12/30/2011

If this type of subject matter were taught in this fashion to white kids, the class would be called Klan Studies. Bravo Arizona for taking another step in the right direction. What is that sound? Silence? I can't hear you Jeff Biggers, what did you say? HA!