Vol. 76/No. 10      March 12, 2012

On Jan. 6 Arizona State Superintendent John Huppenthal ruled that the Tucson Unified School District had violated a 2010 statute that bans ethnic studies if they “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.”

Under threat of losing $15 million a year in state funding, the TUSD school board voted 4-1 to dismantle Mexican-American Studies.

Seven books used in the program were taken out of district classrooms, including 500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures edited by Elizabeth Martinez, Chicano! The History of the Mexican Civil Rights Movement by Arturo Rosales and Message to AZTLAN by Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales.

“Since the walkout Tucson superintendent John Pedicone has been sending letters to teachers telling them to control their students or be fired,” high school student Flor Burreal told the Militant.

The students’ fight to win Mexican-American Studies and the books back has won broad support, including from the American Library Association and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. More than 11,000 people signed petitions in Tucson demanding their return.
 
 
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