Education Alert: Most of Arizona’s Anti-Ethnic Studies Law Is Upheld

Advocating ethnic solidarity through public school courses is prohibited in the state

Want your kids to be taught Mexican-American or African-American history in a way that isn’t sugarcoated? Don’t send them to school in Arizona. A federal judge has upheld all but one aspect of a state law prohibiting school districts from teaching courses from a specific racial or ethnic perspective. In Tucson public schools, the law was targets a Mexican-American studies program, which opponents allege encouraged students to resent white people. The ruling Friday, by Judge A. Wallace Tashima of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, found it unconstitutional to ban classes tailored specifically to students of a particular ethnicity. But state schools are still allowed to ban classes that promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, that explicitly advocate for ethnic solidarity, and that foster resentment toward a race or class of people. Looks like they want kids in Arizona to not even recognize racism when they see it! (New York Times)

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