John Huppenthal thinks Arizonans can’t read. According to the ArizonaRepublic, he released a two-page report that says the Tucson Unified School District’s ethnic studies program is illegal. He even cites confirmation of this in a 120 page audit, ordered by Huppenthal and paid for by TUSD. The question is did he lie? And why did he wait several weeks to release the outside audit?
Shades of his predecessor, Tom Horne, our new state Attorney General, who recently conspired to stonewall the new medical marijuana law passed by the voters of Arizona. You can read my article here. They were both against the ethnic studies program.
The Cadmium Learning Group, which was hired to do the audit on the TUSD ethnic studies program concluded: "During the curriculum audit period, no observable evidence was present to suggest that any classroom within Tucson Unified School District is in direct violation of the law A.R.S. 15-112." This from the Tucson Weekly in excellent coverage by Mari Herreras you can read here.
The anti-ethnic studies law, A.R.S. 15-112, has four main stipulations. Classes may not teach curriculum that: Promote overthrowing the U.S. government; Promote resentment towards a race or class of people; Are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic race; and Advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals. Huppenthal’s report said TUSD violated the last three. The audit said it violated none of them.
Jeff Biggers in the HuffPost asks if Huppenthal committed a felony by lying about the audit report. Arizona Article 38-423 stipulates: “A public officer authorized by law to make or give any certificate or other writing, who makes and delivers as true such a certificate or writing containing a statement which he knows is false, is guilty of a class 6 felony."
Or is this just another fine example of the art of Arizona politics? as Herreras puts it.
Incidentally, the Tucson school district could lose around $15 million or 10 percent of its state funding for the new school year due to Huppenthal’s stupidity and incompetence.
Read more here.
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