FCC Rules On 'Dirty Words' Could Be Used In Arizona Schools (VIDEO)

Legislation proposed this month in the Arizona state Senate could cause teachers at public schools and universities to face suspension or termination for using any language that is currently barred from television under the Federal Communications Commission's indecency policy, the Washington Times reports.

Arizona state Senate Bill 1467 is sponsored by State Senator Lori Klein and backed by many Republican lawmakers, My Fox Phoenix reports.

Klein told the station the bill would mandate punishments ranging from one week suspension for the first offense to dismissal for the third.

Senator David Schapira (D-Tempe) is a part of the Democratic opposition to the bill. He told the station he thinks it's unnecessary.

"Frankly school boards are the ones who should be making these decisions," Schapira told My Fox Phoenix. "I was a high school teacher and I taught in a high school where I never heard anything like this, I never heard from a student, parent or teacher that this was a problem in any classroom."

David Hudson of the First Amendment Center told MSNBC the bill may even violate teachers' constitutional rights.

"That is really problematic," Hudson told MSNBC. "There are serious First Amendment problems with it, serious academic freedom violations."

Hudson also told the station he'd be "stunned" if the bill actually passed.

So far the state's Senate Education Committee hasn't scheduled a hearing to discuss the legislation.

For more on the story, watch the video report from My Fox Phoenix below.

WATCH:

Comments

[dbrett480]

02:18 PM on 03/04/2012

This rule might make sense in an elementary or middle school classroom, but it is just stupid if it is going to be applied to high school or college classes.

[Mike Maes]

06:55 PM on 02/21/2012

Wow! Seriously. Is this still the United States of America? The attacks on the Constitution are coming from all sides. Freedom is eroding in the name of morality.

[hawaiianstile]

09:29 AM on 02/17/2012

lol holly crap arizona is getting so ridiculous their going to actually bring the FCC episode of family guy to life. you are supposed to laugh at the ridiculousness of the idea, not get ideas of your own.

[pepboy]

11:14 AM on 02/16/2012

Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiswoodhill/2012/02/15/solyndras-in-the-classroom-how-we-vastly-overrate-education/

[littlenietzsche]

03:01 PM on 02/21/2012

An interesting assumption but his opinion leaves out a few things like the cost of inflation. While he did account for inflation in the cost of teaching students in the 50s he ignores the inflation and doesn't adjust salaries ... in 1950 the average high school teachers salary was $4,000 or so ... in Texas now the average starting salary for a teacher is $33,000 (which is hardly middle class for a college educated teacher) Interestingly enough the average Superintendents salary in 1950 was only $6000. Also more interesting the amount of government funding compared to teachers salary has roughly the same if we compare 1950 to 2009 ... although I don't know if that actually means anything.

It gets even more amusing when he assumes we could give a student a $58,000 education over 13 years ... that comes out to about $3,866 a year per student ... or $322 a month. I hate to point out that you can't even get day care at a non for profit institution for that price (at least not where I live)

[webber73]

10:07 AM on 02/16/2012

I referred a student to the office a couple of years ago for using the "F" word in class. Nothing was done other than a reprimand. ONE week later I was called into the office because a student said that I used the "F" word in class, which was not true. I eventually discovered it was the same STUDENT I referred to the office a week earlier and the administration BELIEVED the child's story.

[Eric Graff]

06:39 AM on 02/16/2012

What big government/nanny state program does the tgop draw the line at? JUST WONDERIN'

[Truth Only]

05:36 PM on 02/16/2012

Above your level of baby murder and handouts, for sure.

[sidnee]

10:46 PM on 02/15/2012

Why only the teachers--shouldn't students who use these words also have consequences? I mean--I woudl think that students on the average would be using this language way more than teachers at school.

[Eric Graff]

06:40 AM on 02/16/2012

What about LAWMAKERS?

[Desolati0n]

08:21 AM on 02/16/2012

Let's just make a law stating no inappropriate language is acceptable anywhere whatsoever.

[sedagive42]

04:48 PM on 02/16/2012

As I recall Mr.Cheney as VP used the Fbomb on the floor of the Senate, which is against Senate rules. Nothing was done. He even laughed about it.

[sidnee]

10:45 PM on 02/15/2012

And they say only the liberal Dems want to use govt. to take away personal freedoms...........

[Turtleposer]

10:44 PM on 02/15/2012

At my workplace, "waffle" replaced anything sexual word. Now you can't say I ate a waffle for breakfast without giggles breaking out. Preventing vulgarities just makes people turn to other words to use for vulgarities.

[CharlesD]

10:02 PM on 02/15/2012

With the Arizona politicians as they are, it seems it would be cruel and unreasonable punishment to be unable to properly express oneself!

[wca16]

08:15 PM on 02/15/2012

When in situations I can't curse I use abbreviations or make up a completely new word. Then everyone catches on and those words become vulgar. I guess it is outrageous to expect politicians to think that far ahead.

[onehotjock]

07:50 PM on 02/15/2012

What's in the #@$ d%#N m#%$er$#@%en water in Arizona!

[onwisconsin]

07:48 PM on 02/15/2012

So exactly how do you teach a high school or university literature class using contemporary authors?

[Ernest Carr]

07:45 PM on 02/15/2012

Join here www.tinyurl.com/6way99e and protect your rights

[benji85]

07:32 PM on 02/15/2012

So what happened to individual rights, and freedom from government regulation?

Oh wait we aren't corporate entities, we don't matter to Republicans.

[Truth Only]

05:38 PM on 02/16/2012

Am I free to spit in your face? Oh wait, I have to meet you at your trailer park to do that. Never mind.