According to a statement released by the district, “Tucson Unified School District has not banned any books as has been widely and incorrectly reported.” The district’s statement called reports that books had been banned, “completely false and misleading.”
The statement was released as a result of false reports by Raza propagandist, David Abie Morales and others who “reported” that books have been banned from the Tucson Unified School District, including Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Seven books, that were not previously reviewed and approved by the TUSD School Board at the time they were introduced to students, were removed from the classes. The books were used for the politically based curriculum used in the Mexican American Studies classes.
The district reports that none of the above books have been banned by TUSD. Each book has been boxed and stored as part of the process of suspending the classes. The books have been moved to the district storage facility because the classes have been suspended as per the School Board vote to comply with state law ARS 15-112.
“Every one of the books is still available to students through several school libraries. Many of the schools where Mexican American Studies classes were taught have the books available in their libraries. Also, all students throughout the district may reserve the books through the library system,” according to the district’s statement.
According to the district, “Other books have also been falsely reported as being banned by TUSD. It has been incorrectly reported that William Shakespeare’s The Tempest is not allowed for instruction. Teachers may continue to use materials in their classrooms as appropriate for the course curriculum. The Tempest and other books approved for curriculum are still viable options for instructors.”
The suspended Mexican American Studies classes were converted last week to standard grade-level courses with a general curriculum featuring multiple perspectives, as per the directive by the state superintendent. However, the students remained in classes with their teachers, who are now supposed to “teach general curriculum.”
The goal of the district “has continued to be to prevent disruption to student learning.” the district reports that “books used as instructional materials in the former Mexican American Studies classes were collected only from classrooms in schools where the courses were taught.”
According to the district, “In one instance, at Tucson High Magnet School, materials were collected from a filing cabinet while students were in class though teaching did not stop during the process. Tucson High Magnet School Principal Dr. Abel Morado acknowledges that the gathering of materials could have been accomplished outside of class time in all instances.”
“We had a directive to be in compliance with the law and acted quickly to meet that need,” says Morado. “Part of that directive is communicating with teachers, students and parents, and collecting materials. We regret that in one instance materials were collected during class time.”
Morado is a long time supporter of the classes, who invited “his good friend” Delores Huerta to speak at TUSD when she pronounced, “Republicans hate Latinos.”
In testimony before an Administrative Hearing Judge in the district’s appeal of the Superintendent’s finding, it was revealed that Morado allowed the Mexican American Studies teachers to hand pick students for the focus group portion of an audit ordered by Huppenthal. The ideal focus group was to be comprised of past and present MAS students randomly selected by principals. However, Morado emailed Mexican American Studies Director Sean Arce, and MAS teachers Curtis Acosta and Maria Frederico Brummer, asking them to “select students for focus groups.”
Not all of the books used in the classes were reported to be collected by the district. One Tucson High School student reported that the only books she used in her Mexican American/Raza Studies class were, “Sammie and Julianna in Hollywood and The X in La Raza.” She stated that when her mother found out that those were the only books being used in her Chicano Literature class, “she called her old teacher in East L.A. and asked him for a reading list of Mexican American literature for her to read at home.”
The X in La Raza was written by Roberto “Dr. Cintli” Rodriguez. It argues that the Treaty of Hidlago was fraudulent and left out the “X,” which supposedly provided certain U.S. land rights United Sates land rights to Mexican immigrants. Dr. Cintli is a regular speaker during calls to the audience at TUSD Governing Board meetings, arguing for the expansion of the classes and promoting his book.
According to Raza propagandist Morales, Jeff Biggers, “whose work exposed the TUSD book banning of Shakespeare in his Salon article has an interview with MAS Latino Literature teacher Curtis Acosta.”
The Salon Magazine posted a story by TUSD Mexican American Studies fan Biggers began, “As part of the state-mandated termination of its ethnic studies program, the Tucson Unified School District released an initial list of books to be banned from its schools today.” A correction has been called for.
Biggers asks MAS teacher Curtis Acosta to “Explain how you use “The Tempest” and why administrators objected?” Acosta responds, “I am glad you asked this question since it gives me a chance to clear up many of the nuances that did not go viral…
I recorded the meeting with permission of all in the room, and listened to it again last night. What is very clear is that “The Tempest” is problematic for our administrators due to the content of the play and the pedagogical choices I have made.”
Acosta is often paraded out as the “poster boy” of Mexican American Studies program by program zealots. He is charm and charisma has made him a favorite in the fundraising efforts by the “SaveEthnicStudies” teachers whose case was recently thrown out by Federal Court Judge Wallace Tashima.
The books moved until curriculum is developed by staff and approved by the Board are:
Critical Race Theory by Richard Delgado
500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures edited by Elizabeth Martinez
Message to AZTLAN by Rodolfo Corky Gonzales
Chicano! The History of the Mexican Civil Rights Movement by Arturo Rosales
Occupied America: A History of Chicanos by Rodolfo Acuna
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years by Bill Bigelow
Related article:
Federal judge hears arguments in Arizona’s Mexican American Studies classes
“Ethnic Studies” appeal reveals audit flaws