Arizona education chief moves to ban ethnic studies in Tucson schools

CNN ^ | 1/4/2011 | Michael Martinez

[markomalley]

Arizona schools superintendent John Huppenthal has told the Tucson district to stop teaching its controversial Mexican-American studies program or face losing $15 million in annual state aid under a new law, he said Tuesday.

Huppenthal told CNN he was backing this week's decision by exiting state superintendent Tom Horne giving the state's second largest district 60 days to comply with a new 2011 law banning certain ethnic studies programs in public schools.

Horne is now Arizona's new attorney general, and Huppenthal was sworn in Monday as the newly elected Arizona schools superintendent. Both men are Republicans.

The new schools law is the latest controversy in a state already roiled by an immigration crackdown law, known as SB 1070, that is being challenged on constitutional grounds in federal court. The Arizona-Mexico border is considered the nation's busiest for illegal immigration.

Tucson school board member Adelita Grijalva charged that the new law provided no due process and was unconstitutional. She said the new law was part of an anti-immigrant political climate in the Arizona statehouse. She and Huppenthal said they expected this new law to also end up in court.

"People of color in the state of Arizona are under attack," Grijalva told CNN. "We're basically going from one battle to the next."

The law authorizes the state superintendent to stop any ethnic studies classes that promote the overthrow of the U.S. 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.

In written findings Monday, Horne said the Tucson program violated all four criteria.

[yarddog]

I had to renew my Florida Drivers License last month.

The last time I did so was maybe 8 years ago and all I did was show up with my old license.

This time I had to bring my original birth certificate along with two other pieces of info to prove where I live and maybe something else.

Obama probably could not even get a drivers license in Florida. It took me a couple of days to find that old birth certicicate as I don’t think I have had to use it since high school.

I noticed the license examiner, who was very pleasant, checked everything out on his computer and made copies too. Florida is clearly taking identity fraud seriously.

[MSF BU]

This is the case of where we could take a lesson from european countries which allows many students to go into apprenticeships in grade 10. The swiss have an excellent system to accomplish this.

[HiJinx]

Ping!

[reardensteel]

I'm all for abolishing “ethnic studies”, but the comments that imply school should only be about learning some basics and “vocational” training are misplaced. Yes, these should exist for those who would do no better...but on the whole this country is at the leading edge and wont stay there unless our schools teach the best students to be the best for the broadest range of subjects. Heck it isn't even enough anymore to become a physicist, chemist, electrical engineer, etc. These disciplines are converging, requiring individuals with multiple disciplines. Just one example...TV’s will soon be made from organic light emitting diodes. Teach your kids to pursue a vocation and you are condemning them to be serfs.

[ratsreek]

Adelita Grijalva, the woman on the school board running these La Raza/LULAC/Mecha/MALDEF Tucson school indoctrination programs who is all up in arms about it all getting tossed, is the daughter of Raul Grijalva (AZ-7) who was just narrowly re-elected. Running against him was a genuine rocket scientist, a young physicist whom I really liked. I hope we see more of her.

Raul Grijalva is Mexico’s most productive and prominent representative in the U.S. Congress, although McCain is no slouch, either.

[ratsreek]

“Violate”? Movies and TV are protected under the First Amendment. Much as I loathe the kind of programming themes you’re referring to, they are protected speech. What I would like is to see them put out of business by lack of audience. Change the culture and the vox publica, you change the propaganda.

[Chode]

there's enough time for that crap in college...

[pacpam]

I like this man.

[Hildy]

John Huppenthal is a great conservative!

[wendy1946]

How do ethnic studies prepare a student for life after finishing school?

This particular system of ethnic studies clearly was meant to prepare Arizona students for lives of serfdom as citizens of Mexico.

[ex 98C MI Dude]

The Grijalva in the story is Congressman MEChA’s daughter. The La Raza nut didn't fall far from the pinion tree.

[Hulka]

Went through the same sort of verification in Flower Mound, Texas. However, the woman behind the counter was rude and awful. A complete self-centered idiot.

We recently moved from Virginia to Texas and went to the DMV to change our drivers license.

When the woman at the DMV looked at our Virginia drivers license, she asked where the license number was located.

I pointed out to her that the number listed as “Customer ID” was the license number.

She stopped for a second, snorted loudly and with a snarky and sarcastic tone of voice said, “That's ridiculous. Customer! Ha!”

I replied that we were her customer as she was a government employee, employed to serve the people.

She gave me an icy stare and, again with the snarky tone, said, “Ridiculous.”

Texas DMV employee are nothing but mean-spirited and a monumentally arrogant waste of taxpayer dollars.