Huppenthal’s Final Ruling: TUSD’s Mexican American Studies Program in clear violation of law

Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, John Huppenthal announced today that the Tucson Unified School District has allowed its students to be segregated by the color of their skin, and that that the district has allowed political operatives to teach its students to resent others based on the color of their skin. Huppenthal’s confirmation of Judge Kowal’s finding carries a hefty fine of 10% of the district’s overall funding.

“After careful consideration of Judge KowaI’s decision, the months-long investigation of TUSD’s Mexican American Studies Program and the totality of the evidence gathered and thoroughly analyzed leading up to my June 15 ruling, I hereby accept Judge Kowal’s recommendation in its entirety.”

“The assertion that TUSD’s Mexican American Studies Program was designed and implemented only to promote cultural diversity and a greater understanding of the role of Mexican Americans in this nation is inaccurate and incomplete. Tucson Unified School District’s Mexican American Studies Program courses, curriculum and classroom materials have been found to (1) promote resentment toward a race or class of people; (2) be designed primarily for the pupils of a particular ethnic group; and (3) advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”

The district continued to sell the classes to the public with false statistics. The graduation rates and dropout rates for TUSD’s Mexican-American students were NOT improved by taking these classes. As TUSD data shows, the overall rates for students taking the classes and those who did not take a single MAS class are virtually identical. “The often cited, misleading data, was produced as a self-serving promotion by the MAS Department itself and bears no relation to actual student results,” says Rich Kronberg co-founder of TU4SD.

“Pursuant to Arizona state law, and until TUSD comes into compliance with A.R.S. § 15-112, I have directed the Arizona Department of Education to withhold ten percent of the monthly apportionment of state aid that would otherwise be due to Tucson Unified School District effective from August 15, 2011 through the present,” according to Huppenthal’s statement released today.

Huppenthal’s statement continued, “For the educational well-being of all TUSD students and to ensure its schools receive the adequate resources they need to deliver a quality education, I strongly urge the TUSD governing board to take decisive and immediate action to come into compliance with A.R.S. § 15-112.

All children—regardless of race, ethnicity, socio-economic status or any other means of differentiation deserve access to a quality public education.

Included within the formal education process should be the teaching of the complete history of important, transformative events. Discussing the past injustices of a class of people in a balanced, factually accurate and apolitical learning environment is a healthy part of the learning process, and should be encouraged.

Unfortunately, in TUSD Mexican American Studies courses, a troubling, common theme arose time and time again in course and instructional materials, books and lesson plans: Latino minorities have been and continue to be oppressed by a Caucasian majority. This harmful, dispiriting message has no place in public education. It is contrary to everything public educators aspire to instill in our youth.

Education programs should never teach children to resent or hate or feel victimized by another group of people for any reason, let alone simply because of certain individuals’ ethnicity and skin color. Children of all backgrounds should be empowered by education programs to get ahead, not embittered to ‘get even’ or disheartened to give up.

Unfortunately, both the past and present reality clearly shows that minority children from disadvantaged backgrounds in TUSD have not been getting ahead. They have not been afforded the same opportunities of more fortunate peers. Out of all of TUSD’s schools which received an A-F letter grade from the Arizona Department of Education last year, one-third—32 schools— received a ‘D.’ Those same “D” schools primarily cater to large populations of underprivileged, Latino students.

Despite the many challenges historically facing TUSD, I have high hopes for its future and for the future of its students. In John Pedicone, TUSD has a superintendent with a successful track record in other school districts of improving education outcomes for students. In addition, the recent change in leadership on TUSD’s school board, with its renewed emphasis on improving academics for all of its students, holds promise for all students at TUSD for improved performance in subject areas that will help them become productive citizens of the community and the state.

Going forward, my hope and expectation is that the TUSD Board, with the support and leadership of Superintendent Pedicone, will develop a transparent, public process to insure that all curriculum and course materials align with state education standards and applicable laws and are thoroughly vetted by educators, curriculum experts and the local community.

My staff at the Arizona Department of Education and I look forward to the opportunity to partner with TUSD’s leadership in the coming days, weeks and months ahead to advance the educational opportunities for all of its students.”

TUSD Governing Board member Michael Hicks said of the finding, ““I am grateful for Huppenthal’s decision and disappointed at the same time. I was advised by district officials, at the time of the vote to pursue the appeal, that penalties would not accrue during the appeal process. That is obviously not the case, and I have been misled. However, I understand that Superintendent Huppenthal did all that he could to protect the students in our district.”

Estimated penalities are approximately $6,000,000 to date.

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TUSD’s Pedicone testifies in “Ethnic Studies” hearing