Today, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas found Tucson Unified School District’s Ethnics Studies Culturally Relevant classes to be in compliance of Arizona law. The Superintendent, who is trying to avoid a recall, hastily called a press conference to announce her decision.
Douglas was accompanied by TUSD Superintendent H.T. Sanchez. Douglas did not contact Governing Board members before making her announcement. the Tucson Unified School District will not lose the $14.2 million in annual funding that were at risk. The move by Douglas was expected. She has invested her credibility in Sanchez, and he has done the same with her.
Superintendent Douglas said, “I look forward to continuing our work with Superintendent H.T. Sanchez to ensure such a measure does not become necessary in the future and commend him on his efforts over the last two months.”
Douglas said the department has concluded that the District-approved curricula do not appear to violate statute.
However, she said the department remains deeply concerned that some TUSD teachers are not following the curricula for the ethnic studies classes. While TUSD has clearly corrected a few situations, there is still work to be done.
As part of its monitoring process, the department has conducted an extensive review of TUSD’s curricula and classroom materials for culturally relevant ethnic studies including a list of approved reading materials and its policy regarding the use of “enrichment” materials unapproved by the district’s board. The department also conducted announced and unannounced visits to individual classrooms. Superintendent Diane Douglas said the department also considered the district’s past failures to maintain adherence to the curricula in its decision to continue its monitoring.
Douglas and TUSD Superintendent H.T. Sanchez agreed to an action plan in January to ensure that the district’s ethnic studies curricula are in accordance with statute in individual classrooms. TUSD had a 60-day period to correct the violations or be subject to a 10 percent reduction in state funds as required by statute. The 60-day period expires March 4.
“I appreciate the State Superintendent’s willingness to work with our district throughout this process,” said Superintendent Sanchez. “Together we were able to avoid a costly loss of funding and I remain committed to improving culturally relevant classroom instruction so that in the future monitoring will no longer be required. I am impressed with the dedication that Superintendent Douglas is showing in personally resolving this issue so that TUSD can expand culturally relevant courses while complying with state law.”
The Superintendent met today with Superintendent Sanchez following the initial meeting of the department’s Latino Education Advisory Council. Sanchez is a member of the council, having been invited in January by Superintendent Diane Douglas to participate.
Earlier in the day, Sanchez was challenged for his misrepresentations about his experience.
Radio show host, James T. Harris revealed that Sanchez lied in late September 2013, after being on the job as TUSD’s Superintendent for a short time, when he went on the Wake Up Tucson radio show to discuss his past success.
In the interview he claimed that the district he left to take the TUSD job had gotten out from under a desegregation order. The implication was that it got out from a court order during his tenure.
He took the job with that district, according to his resume in the fall of 2010. The desegregation order was lifted in June of 2010. The desegregation order was not in place for at least five months before he took a job there. See resume here.
By the time he took the job there, his responsibilities included working on programs that were in existence and with the district’s Tri-Ethnic Committee, which was broken into four task forces focusing on gifted and talented education, English as a second language, hiring a minority faculty and district growth.
“One other thing I am probably infamous or famous for is that I am very honest…” He said that there are certain people who like the desegregation court order because it gives them authority in power….” Sanchez also acknowledged that people want segregation because they are making money off of it. “I believe as with anything, there are some that uh, throughout the years – some people have made a whole lotta money with the desegregation court order. I mean what are the issues that were wrangling with right now is that the attorneys on all sides are unhappy with the pay structure.”
Last week, he appeared before the Arizona Senate Finance Committee. He told the committee that the desegregation order in TUSD allowed little wiggle room for spending. To the contrary, the order allows for wide discretion by the administration and has traditionally been used as a slush fund.
Earlier this year, Pueblo High School principal Augustine Romero admitted that the classes had not changed and were in fact exactly as they were before when an administrative law judge found them to violate state.
Governing Board member Michael Hicks said of the decision, “It is unfortunate that Superintendent Douglas permitted the shell game by the district to go unchallenged.” Douglas, who has been contacted by concerned educators, noted that Douglas visited only prearranged Rincon High School and neglected to visit schools with which educators had expressed concern.
After several missteps, it is widely believed that Superintendent Douglas is making strictly politically motivated decisions to avoid a possible recall effort.
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TUSD board member calls for investigation of Culturally Relevant courses
Romero claims Mexican American Studies classes never left TUSD
TUSD’s “Ethnics Studies” defense in appeal supernatural precious knowledge
Romero to bring educational revolution to Pueblo High School
State of the Re:Union examines TUSD’s Mexican American Studies