Arizona had passed legislation prohibiting courses “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group,” which targeted a decades-long, voluntary Mexican American Studies program for K-12 students in the Tucson Unified School District. But a federal judge ruled the ban was “enacted and enforced with a discriminatory purpose,” and is therefore unconstitutional.

Racial Animus

Judging from local reporting on the ban, it became a personal issue. The Arizona Daily Star reports that Arizona’s superintendent of public education at the time, Tom Horne, and former state senator, and Horne’s successor John Huppenthal, had it out for the Mexican American Studies program for years, culminating in an alleged blog post comment by Huppenthal comparing the classes to Hitler’s rise to power.

  • “Promote the overthrow of the United States government,”
  • “Promote resentment toward a race or class of people,”
  • “Are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group,” or
  • “Advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”

Racial Motivations

In a scathing opinion, Judge A. Wallace Tashima determined officials “were motivated by racial animus” and were pushing “discriminatory ends in order to make political gains.” Tashima ruled that the ban violated students’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by denying them the “right to receive information and ideas” and discrimination against Latinos, respectively.

“Having thus ruled out any pedagogical motivation,” Tashima wrote, “the Court is convinced that decisions regarding the MAS program were motivated by a desire to advance a political agenda by capitalizing on race-based fears.”

Related Resources:

  • Arizona Law Outlawing Mexican-American Studies Ruled Unconstitutional (AZ Central)
  • Teachers: How to Talk to Students About Privilege, Legally (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
  • MN Students Sue School District Over Gay Policy (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
  • Banned Books Week: Can Schools Ban Books? (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)

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