NYT editorial.
Rejected in Tucson. Published. Jan. 21, 2012,
The Tucson Unified School District has dismantled its Mexican-American
studies program, packed away its offending books, shuttled its students
into other classes. It was blackmailed into doing so: keeping the
program would have meant losing more than $14 million in state funding.
It was a blunt-force victory for the Arizona school superintendent, John
Huppenthal, who has spent years crusading against ethnic-studies
programs he claims are “brainwashing” children into thinking that
Latinos have been victims of white oppression.
As a state legislator, he co-wrote a law cracking down on ethnic
studies, and as superintendent he decided that Tucson’s district was
violating it. School officials in Tucson and elsewhere strenuously
disagree, saying he misunderstood and mischaracterized a program that
brought much-needed attention to a neglected part of America’s history
and culture. They say it engaged students, pushed them to excel, and led
to better grades and attendance.
But their interpretation collided with that of Mr. Huppenthal, whose law
prohibits programs that “promote the overthrow of the United States
government,” “promote resentment toward a race or class of people” and
“advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as
individuals.” Unless two students win a federal lawsuit arguing that the
loss of the program violates their First Amendment rights, Tucson
school officials and students are going to have to enrich their
curriculum another way.
