A bill that aims to ban ethnic studies in Arizona schools was signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Jan Brewer, cheering critics who called such classes divisive and alarming others who said it’s yet another law targeting Latinos in the state.
The move comes less than 20 days after Brewer signed a controversial immigration bill which has caused widespread protests against the state. Brewer’s press office did not return requests for comment Tuesday evening.
HB 2281 bans schools from teaching classes that are designed for students of a particular ethnic group, promote resentment or advocate ethnic solidarity over treating pupils as individuals.
The bill was written to target the Chicano, or Mexican-American, studies program in the Tucson school system, said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne.
School districts that don’t comply with the new law could have up to 10 percent of their state funds withheld each month. Districts have the right to appeal the mandate, which takes effect Dec. 31.
Tucson Unified School District officials say the classes benefit students and promote critical thinking.
“We don’t teach all those ugly things they think we’re teaching,” said Judy Burns, the president of the Tucson Unified School District governing board.
She has no intentions of ending the Mexican-American studies program, in which about 3 percent of the district’s 55,000 students are enrolled.
Horne has been trying to end the program for years, saying the program divides students by race and promotes resentment. He singled out a history book used in some classes, “Occupied America: A History of Chicanos,” by Rodolfo Acuna.
“To begin with, the title of the book implies to the kids that they live in occupied America, or occupied Mexico,” Horne said last week in a telephone interview.
Ethnic studies are taught at high schools and colleges nationwide, but the Tucson district’s officials say its 14-year-old program is unique because it is districtwide, is offered to grades K-12 and can satisfy high school graduation requirements.
The program is supported by a court-ordered desegregation budget.
