Arizona Outlaws Mexican-American Studies Program

A Mexican-American studies class in Arizona's Tucson Unified School District has been declared illegal by a new state law that went into effect Jan. 1. The ethnic studies law was written by former state schools superintendent Tom Horne, who left that position last week to become the state's attorney general.

The new law prohibits classes that "promote the overthrow of the United States government, promote resentment toward a race or class of people, are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group, or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals."

Arizona has become a racial hotbed and the center of debate over immigration policy, most notably with the passage of SB 1070, a controversial immigration law, last year. As of 2009, 30.8 percent of the state's citizens were of Hispanic or Latino descent.

There are classes in Tuscon's ethnic studies program that focus on black, Asian and American-Indian studies, but the only one that has been singled out by the state is the Mexican-American class. In a report on his findings, Horne says he received complaints only about that particular program.

But a New York Times article reports that Horne, a Republican, has had the Mexican-American studies class in his sights since 1997, when activist Dolores Huerta told high school students in Tucson that "Republicans hated Latinos." Last week, Horne described the class as "propagandizing and brainwashing."

Tuscon school officials say the curriculum gives students the opportunity to learn American history from a Mexican-American perspective, including the contributions made by that community as well as injustices perpetrated against its members.

The school district's studies have shown that Mexican-American students who took the class were twice as likely to graduate from high school and three times as likely to go on to college as Mexican-American students who did not take the class, according to The Arizona Republic.

The district's school board has sent a letter to Horne and incoming Superintendent John Huppenthal supporting the program and asking that they resolve the issue without taking legal action, "to minimize the strain on human and financial resources by working together."

The ethnic studies program has its roots in a 1974 desegregation lawsuit that led to the creation of an African-American studies program. Mexican-American studies were added to the program in 1997, according to The Washington Post.

Horne argues that instead of combating segregation in schools, the program is creating it.

"But the point is that all students should be learning together, and they should be learning about the contributions of different cultures," Horne writes in his report. "Students should not be divided by race, with each race learning about only its own contribution."

Huppenthal has 60 days to decide if the Mexican-American studies program violates the law. If he says it does, which he has already indicated is his position, he can order the state Department of Education to withhold 10 percent of the Tuscon school district's funding each month (approximately $3 million) until the issue is resolved.