The friction between Baja and Alta Arizona grinds on: Tucson Unified School District on Tuesday lost an administrative appeal defending its Mexican-American Studies program:
The judge "very clearly ruled against the district," said TUSD Superintendent John Pedicone. "We believed that we were in compliance."
The 37-page ruling by Lewis D. Kowal shot down an appeal by the Tucson Unified School District, affirming a June decision by state schools chief John Huppenthal that the district's MAS courses violate state law.
I have seldom heard of state legislatures taking action against a local school district's curriculum decisions, but the Mexican-American Studies program has become something of a political lightning rod. I am no expert, but I'll try to explain some of the backstory below the little orange cloud.
My fellow Kossacks have written about the MAS program extensively: revgerry has a great overview of the issues involved. There are lots of opinions swirling around on this story. In April a school board meeting was flash-mobbed (photos) by zealous high school students supporting MAS. I am so impressed that these students would become activists to support their studies.
I would summarize the key points like so:
- MAS teaches American history that has largely been ignored:
A lot of American history today is not only forgotten but never been shared to begin with. How many know about the Westminster vs. Mendez school desegregation case? How many know about the contributions of Chicanos in World War II? You would think it was non-existent . . . .
American history [as taught in school] is mostly the history of Anglo-Americans. TUSD had the brilliant idea of sharing more of the Chicano perspective in history classes to make it more appealing to the students.
Did you know your own tio and your tata fought in this war? Did you know that this part of American history was influenced by your family?
- Students who take MAS do better in school:
Pedicone cited internal studies indicating that students who took Mexican-American studies scored higher on the AIMS test and were more than twice as likely to graduate and three times as likely to go on to college.
Why do you suppose that is?
- Conservatives in Phoenix hate it: "It is inherently designed for students of a particular ethnicity, and it's got to stop," said former Arizona Superintendent of Schools Tom Horne -- notwithstanding the fact that both Anglo and Latino students take these classes. One board member testified that he thought MAS was like a cult, because chanting and clapping are used to start the class.
- Horne was so opposed that he got the legislature to pass a law against it. The legislation withholds state funding wherever the Superintendent finds curricula that are tailored for students of just one "ethnic race" and that promote ethnic resentment. Although the law says this in general, the legislature was looking right at Tucson when they wrote it.
- Horne's successor Huppenthal commissioned a study of MAS by an independent auditor, who concluded the curriculum was not in violation of the law. This finding flatly contradicted Horne's finding, so Huppenthal naturally decided to ignore the results. In June he declared MAS in violation. TUSD appealed this decision to Administrative Law Judge L. D. Kowal.
Tuesday's ruling was the result. ALJ Kowal agreed completely with Huppenthal:
The Administrative Law Judge concludes that A.R.S. § 15-112(F) permits the historical (objective) instruction of oppression that may, as a natural but unintended consequence, result in racial resentment or ethnic solidarity. However, teaching oppression objectively is quite different than actively presenting material in a biased, political, and emotionally charged manner, which is what occurred in MAS classes. Teaching in such a manner promotes social or political activism against the white people, promotes racial resentment, and advocates ethnic solidarity, instead of treating pupils as individuals.
http://media.jsonline.com/...
So I guess it would have been ok if the classes had been a bit more Fair And Balanced?
That's the basics, but this story has complicated details. TUSD could still appeal the decision, but blogger D. A. Morales thinks they won't. Perhaps they can't. The TUSD board recently suffered an unexpected loss when member Judy Burns died. They've been unable to agree on a replacement, which interferes with their ability to respond to ALJ Kowal's decision (such as whether to appeal or not).
Simultaneously, there is a federal case going on, alleging that the state's action against TUSD is a violation of the 14th Amendment, which could overturn the legislation at issue. And there is another federal connection: TUSD's ethnic studies programs are essential elements of the city's federally-ordered school desegregation plan, and any changes must be reviewed by the Department of Justice.
I have a poor opinion of the MAS criticisms. Some are short-sighted: for example, Kowal disapproved of the lack of textbooks, yet one of the central issues of invisible history and invisible people is the very lack of textbooks! Other critiques seem like petty provincialism, which is a polite way to say racism. Can't we strip some of the whitewash off American history without trembling in fear of a riot? As an adult who survived a public high school education that included the Dred Scott and Brown v. the Board of Education decisions, I know it can be done. (Heck, they even taught me about Eugene V. Debs and Upton Sinclair without sparking a revolution.) And can't we teach Tucson's students that Chicano literature is valuable, and that Mexican-American history is worth some study? The state's position seems to be that doing so promotes "groupthink" and "resentment." Huppenthal's claim that MAS is "designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic race" is insulting on its face, as if no one besides Chicano students could possibly benefit or take interest. I know I would rather have learned about Cesar Chavez than Spiro Agnew when I was in high school, and it would have done me more good. Yet if you try to tell Arizona's Superintendent of Schools that the standard curriculum is designed primarily for white pupils, I bet you a loaf of Wonder Bread that you'll get nowhere.