Open Letter to Arizona legislators re: HB 2281

      As educators at universities and colleges across the coutry, we are concerned about a pattern of vilification and intimidation of minorities and immigrants in the state of Arizona.  Taken together, SB 1070 and HB 2281 reproduce patterns of discrimination against minorities and immigrants and create a climate that not only presumes that people of Latin American descent are unwelcome in the United States but that their histories and cultures should be excluded from public education in Arizona.  We believe that these presumptions are fundamentally misguided.

 

At the heart of HB 2281 is the mistaken notion that Ethnic Studies programs are seditious and racist.  The bill asserts the following:

%uFFFD         %u201Cthe Legislature finds and declares that public school pupils should be taught to treat and value each other as individuals and not be taught to resent or hate other races or classes of people.

%uFFFD         Prohibits a school district or charter school from including in its program of instruction any courses or classes that:

o    Promote the overthrow of the United States government.

o   Promote resentment toward a race or class of people.

o   Are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group.

o   Advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.%u201D[1]

 

First of all, this bill fosters a damaging caricature that Ethnic Studies courses advocate separatism and antagonism to the U.S. government and society.  There is no proof that any ethnic studies curriculum in the state of Arizona does anything which would warrant cutting off funding by these standards.  In the place of proof, HB 2281 merely reproduces conjecture and hearsay about what transpires in Ethnic Studies classrooms.  Contrary to this caricature, Ethnic Studies has always pursued a more inclusive study of history and culture that can and should produce a more tolerant and just society.  In many ways, it seeks to remedy history curricula which have excluded the experiences of millions of Americans and the legacy of civil rights violations which those populations faced. 

 

Secondly, rather than acknowledging the countless studies which document the educational value of materials presented in ethnic studies curriculum, HB 2281 begins with the faulty premise that the study of ethnic minorities can only be seditious or communitarian.  Ethnic studies courses at the University of Texas, for instance, have always catered to students from a variety of backgrounds and encourage nuanced critiques of the legacy of American history and advocacy of civic and social engagement to address these and other wrongs.  More generally, Ethnic Studies works to integrate the US more effectively by advocating political participation and awareness as well as articulating commitment to multiculturalism and pluralism.  Rather than seeing Ethnic Studies as a barrier to an inclusive society, you ought to consider the ways that it helps produce engaged citizens.

 

Third, it is perhaps a mistake to let Arizona schools disregard other longstanding problems, such as,  %u201CThe grouping of pupils according to academic performance, including capability in the English language, that may result in a disparate impact by ethnicity.%u201D[2]  In our experience, these disparities are rarely accidental and speak to the need for Arizona, and all public education systems, to continue the practice of recruiting and training bilingual teachers who can help non-native speakers reach fluency in English. 

 

Finally, taken alongside SB 1070, HB 2281 is responsible for creating a climate of intolerance and suspicion against ethnic minorities and their allies.  If the state of Arizona is genuinely interested in creating an inclusive citizenry, then it must repeal both of these acts.

 

Sincerely,

 


[1] http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/49leg/2r/summary/h.hb2281_03-18-10_houseengrossed.doc.htm

[2] http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/49leg/2r/summary/h.hb2281_03-18-10_houseengrossed.doc.htm

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