A brief interlude from the debt ceiling wars: Arizona strikes again!
While immigration, abortion, and other red meat issues drew most of the attention during Arizona's 2011 legislative session, more than 300 other bills were passed and signed by Governor Jan Brewer without much fanfare. Literally hundreds of pieces of legislation seldom appeared in newspaper articles or online reports, nor were they talked about on radio and TV. One bill was HB 2002, which sailed through along party lines (2:1 Republican) and Brewer signed it.
The sponsor of HB 2002 was Republican Rep. John Kavanaugh, one of Senator Russell Pearce's strongest allies in the legislature. This dirtbag stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Pearce on every one of his anti-Mexican measures, including those focused on education. For example, Kavanaugh supported the ethnic studies ban, as well as Pearce's failed attempt to turn teachers into immigration cops by requiring them to determine the citizenship status of every student in their classroom. That bigoted and counter-productive bill was even too extreme for some Republicans, who helped defeat it, but the ethnic studies ban is now law. When Kavanaugh was confronted by critics of the ban on multiculturalism in public schools, he replied:
"This bill basically says, 'You're here. Adopt American values,' ... If you want a different culture, then fine, go back to that culture."
Ah ... John, many people who object to your removing their history from the curriculum have no other culture to "go back to." They were sorta here before your culture showed up.
Kavanaugh was also the shitheel who introduced the bill repealing the 14th Amendment's citizenship clause, which fortunately stalled. But he was successful with HB 2002, so what's this little stinker do?
We already had laws on the books that prohibit teachers and the schools that employ them from overt participation in political campaigns. Instructors cannot use their classrooms as a forum to support a candidate or cause, for instance. Similarly, schools cannot use their property, equipment, or staff to influence elections. A teacher could have her class research and debate a political topic, and the school could host a candidates forum or serve as a polling center; but the teacher and school themselves cannot be seen as advocates for a person or policy.
Still, when you watch the ads and read the materials distributed by education associations, such as the Arizona Education Association (AEA) or the Arizona School Board Association (ASBA), it's clear which side of the aisle most of their leadership favors. Hint: it's not the batch of leaking brainpans currently running the state -- backward-thinking lugnuts who've cut Arizona's public and higher education to the marrow. Is it any wonder we rank near the bottom in just about every significant education indicator?
As part of their mission to support schools, AEA, ASBA, and similar associations sometimes take stands on educational policies, and more often than not their positions align with those of Democrats. HB 2002 is intended to put a stop to that; it's intended to silence the voice of education. It's okay, says Citizens United, for oil companies and corporate PACs to spend gobs of money on elections, because to limit them would be to restrict free speech.
That same standard just doesn't apply to educators.
Section 15-1511 of the Arizona statutes already banned teachers and schools from influencing elections. HB 2002 goes a step further, attacking the funding base of statewide organizations like ASBA. Here's the little ditty that the legislature slipped in to 15-1511 this year:
D. NOTWITHSTANDING SECTION 15‑342, PARAGRAPH 8, A SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL NOT SPEND MONIES FOR MEMBERSHIP IN AN ASSOCIATION THAT ATTEMPTS TO INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF AN ELECTION.
In other words, school districts are now prohibited from joining organizations that are politically active. School districts are banned from belonging to groups that lobby on behalf of a strong educational platform. Education is extremely political, from budgeting to curriculum development, and recently we've seen how schools have become a pawn in the immigration wars. But with HB 2002 districts are now banned from joining the very organizations who represent their interests in these political debates.
I've known a bunch of school boards, especially small ones, and our state has a lot. Most of them belong to the Arizona School Board Association, which represents more than 240 districts and 1,200 board members. Since 1949 the membership-driven organization has provided valuable training for school boards. Many districts are so small and inexperienced that they depend on ASBA for leadership workshops, legal advice, and information about government regulations and legislative matters. Like any association, ASBA's conferences provide opportunities for board members to network and learn from one another. (I have no connection to ASBA.)
Yes, from time to time ASBA takes a position on policy matters, since it's mission, after all, is to serve schools. When a bill or policy is introduced that might complicate the work of school boards, ASBA not only has a right but a duty to take a stand. As a 501(c)3 organization, ASBA cannot "lobby," but nonprofits are permitted to take positions on policy matters and even donate to causes, as long as these political activities stay under a certain threshold. However, that's even too much for Arizona's GOP-dominated legislature, which would love to keep these pesky educational associations away from the education debate. So, Kavanaugh and his looney band of pinheads are silencing ASBA's voice by cutting their funding and influence off at the knees.
HB 2002 presents a devil's bargain: If ASBA continues to advocate for pro-education policies, districts may not be able to join, thus undercutting ASBA's income and influence, and, at the same time, robbing school districts of important services and networking. If ASBA chooses to tone down its political rhetoric and activity in order to retain its membership base, then the association's effect on education policy evaporates. Either way, it's a win-win for the anti-education pills at the Capitol, who are trying their knuckle-headed best to dismantle public education and turn it over to the market.