SB 1108 was proposed after the head superintendent of Arizona, Tom Horne, launched a verbal and political attack against TUSD Mexican/American Raza Studies(The only K-12 Ethnic Studies Dept in the nation in a public school district). Raza Studies began to get national attention after guest speaker, Dolores Huerta spoke at Tucson High Magnet School about the anti-Latino policies being proposed in Arizona. During her speech she made the comment that “Republicans hate Latinos”. This statement was taken out of context by THMS Young Republicans club and Tom Horne and put on national news such as CNN and Lou Dobbs. From that point on Horne requested all syllabuses, books, and videos because he was concerned that these classes taught racial chauvinism, ethnic superiority, and separatism. Continued attacks against our classes and M.E.Ch.A picked up within our schools and district. When Horne was told by the TUSD school board that he had no say in what should or should not be taught in our schools, a few months later SB 1108 surfaced and became a blatant attack against our classes and groups.
Taking a stand against the law that bans diversity in our schools
S.B. 1108: Ending diversity organizations in our schools
S.B. 1108 is a piece of legislation that was introduced by Russell Pearce and passed by the appropriations committee. If passed by the Arizona legislature, all multi-cultural, college campus organizations that promote diversity will cease to exist.
We have an electronic petition circulating that supports ethnic studies and Mexican American/Raza studies in Arizona and opposes Arizona SB 1108 that proposes to eliminate any "race-based" education in the state. To sign the petition go to No On SB 1108
