Here We Go Again, Arizona: Ethnic Studies Banned in Public Schools -- Book Burning Tonight!

Truly no stranger to controversy, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill targeting ethnic studies programs. Jonathan Cooper of AP reports that "State schools chief Tom Horne . . . said a Tucson school district program promotes `ethnic chauvinism' and racial resentment toward whites while segregating students by race."  The law bans "classes that advocate ethnic solidarity, that are designed primarily for students of a particular race, or that promote resentment toward a certain ethnic group." The Tucson Unified School District offers courses in African-American, Mexican-American and Native-American studies that focus on history and literature.

Click here for some additional information about the Arizona law and a link to the text.  The L.A. Times reports that the Tucson Chicana/o Studies program was supported by a court-ordered school desegregation decree, which complicates any possible dismantling of the program.  "Augustine Romero, director of student equity in the Tucson school district, said it now had become politically acceptable to attack Latinos in Arizona."

KJ