As one of his final actions as head of Arizona’s public schools, outgoing Superintendent John Huppenthal (R) announced on Friday that the Tucson Unified School District could be stripped of some of its funding in March unless it abandons courses that allegedly violate the state’s ban on “ethnic studies.” Though Friday was Huppenthal’s last day in office, his replacement, Diane Douglas, is a Republican with close ties to several conservative organizations.
Huppenthal reportedly objects to “an introductory course on hip-hop from the African-American perspective and lyrics from the rock band Rage Against the Machine.” The legal basis for his threat to deny funding to the school district if they do not suspend the courses he finds objectionable is a 2010 law placing several limits on what kinds of instruction may be offered in Arizona. That law bans course work that promotes “resentment toward a race or class of people,” that is “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group,” or that advocates “ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”
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Thanks, Arizona, for making Texas look good. What’s wrong with a course the African-American kids might find interesting? In fact, other kids might want to get “hip” too. The standard curriculum emphasizes Dead White Guys. Who have made some great art—but why ignore everybody else? And why not offer the “specific” classes to anybody interested?
"Resentment" is interesting wording, really gives that law the flavor of appeasing the majority while pretending to be progressive.
Arizona Threatens To Take Away School District’s Funding Over A Course On Hip-Hop: