Dive Brief:
- Tucson Unified School District could lose 10% of its funding for violating Arizona's 2010 ban on ethnic studies, which prohibits schools from teaching courses that "promote resentment toward a race or a class of people, are designed primarily for peoples of a particular ethnic group, or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of peoples as individuals," according to the Associated Press.
- Outgoing state Superintendent John Huppenthal has pursued action against the district, citing issues including a hip-hop course taught through an African-American lens and the use of lyrics from the band Rage Against the Machine.
- The district had an ethnic studies program from 2006 to 2012, but it was dismantled due to fears of funding cuts.
Dive Insight:
The ethnic studies ban has been highly controversial, not only due to educators and students arguing that it limits their freedom of speech, but because research has shown the academic benefits of such programs. According to the Associated Press, researchers at the University of Arizona found that students who participated in Tucson's ethnic studies program (before it was halted) had higher graduation rates and better test scores.