The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund isn’t letting go.
On Thursday, March 15, MALDEF, representing the Mendoza plaintiffs against the Tucson Unified School District in the ongoing desegregation legal battles, asked the court to reconsider its order from late February that denied the immediate return of the dismantled Mexican-American studies classes.
Here is a copy of MALDEF’s March 15 motion.
The motion references a Feb. 2 filing by MALDEF when it first requested the classes be returned. You can read that motion here
In a note from Mendoza representative Sylvia Campoy, below the cut, she explains that in the latest filing MALDEF points out the error in keeping the Mexican-American studies classes from returning:
Yesterday’s filing states that the Court’s reconsideration is warranted because the MASD order made two manifest errors of law and two manifest errors of fact. It specifies that the Court erroneously concluded: 1- that the promise of future compliance can excuse present illegality and 2- that suspension of Mexican American Studies courses did not deprive any student of equal protection of the law. The errors of fact which are noted refer to the
both the Special Master’s and the Court’s decisions that the reinstatement of MAS courses would cause undue disruption and would “sidetrack” the Special Master’s efforts to develop a Unitary Status Plan by late June/early July.In his letter to the Court of February 23, 2012 the Special Master reported that TUSD’s suspension of the Mexican American Studies courses did constitute a failure to implement the Post Unitary Status Plan and recommended that the Court acknowledge the suspension of the MAS courses as a violation of the orders of the Court. Disappointingly, however, the Special Master did not recommend the reinstatement of the MAS courses but rather asserted that the Unitary Status Plan “will include strategies for moving forward to ensure a quality education for all TUSD students, the majority of whom are Mexican American.” He also stated that he would be working to implement “a district-wide ethnically and culturally relevant curriculum.” Herein lies the first error-within the context of a reported Court violation by TUSD, some promised actions are provided. However, these promised corrective actions are not historically demonstrated- in good faith- for a reasonable period of time. It is this very logic that resulted in the Ninth Circuit’s ruling on appeal which reversed the District Court’s finding that TUSD had obtained unitary status upon the adoption of the yet-to-be implemented Post Unitary Status Plan. A record of good faith and compliance simply can not be derived from mere intention or promise, especially when the record does not reflect either good faith or compliance as in this particular case.
One very critical constitutional thread which was woven into the fabric of the 1978 Desegregation Stipulation of Settlement stated that the District may “not engage in any acts or policies which deprive any student equal protection of the law whether by intentional segregation or discrimination based on a student’s race or ethnic group.” This equal protection thread was also woven into current Court orders. Yet, as is presented in the Mendoza filing, TUSD suspended/eliminated all MAS courses while leaving intact all other ethnic studies classes. Adoption of the Governing Board resolution to suspend the MAS courses essentially singled out Mexican American Studies classes for disparate treatment, leaving in place African American, Native American, and Middle Eastern Studies. Since the MAS classes were suspended, Latino students have been denied a comparable education. Moreover, they have been marginalized through the message that MAS courses are not valued while other ethnic classes are valued. In a school district comprised of 61% Latino students, the harmful impact is widespread. The filing states, “By suspending the Mexican American Studies classes, the District has told its Latino students that their ethnic background no longer is valued and respected.”
The notion that reinstating the MAS courses would be disruptive is wrong. (I heard the same justification from a Board Member during a recent media interview.) If the courses are reinstated the students would remain in the same classroom with the same teacher and would receive the same credit for the course. Additionally, the students would be engaged in courses that they actually enrolled in and not those that they were mandated to take after their classes were suspended. A complelling declarative statement by a student who was enrolled in MAS courses at the time they were suspended is part of yesterday’s filing. It articulates, via a student’s voice, the “disruption” that resulted from suspending her classes and her desire to have the MAS courses reinstated.
The notion that reinstating the MAS courses would somehow “sidetrack” the efforts to prepare the Unitary Status Plan is not sound. The decision on this matter now rests with the Court; not the Special Master. MAS courses are part of the Post Unitary Status Plan (part of a current Court order). The filing states, “…that a remedial plan is in preparation and is anticipated to end discrimination when implemented does not excuse current discrimination or relieve the Court and Special Master appointed to act for the Court from their obligation to order that such discrimination end forthwith.”
The filing outlines several cases in our public education history in which the federal court has protected students from state and local policies that create barriers in the implementation of court-mandated desegregation plans when students’ 14th Amendment rights are at risk. Reading through the case law citations in the Mendoza Plaintiffs’ filing is both uplifting and discouraging. It reminds us that the educational well being of ethnic and racial minority students has been a long fought battle; one which, most unfortunately, is not over. One which, however, has been greatly supported through federal court intervention such as in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1984). It also reminds us, as is stated in a Court order in this case, filed February 6, 2006, that this case is ultimately “aimed at ……securing equal access to equal resources for minority students.” Reinstating MAS courses would definitely be a critical step aimed in this direction and unsound legal and factual rational for not doing so must simply be dismissed. It is my hope that the Court will take this critical step based on the facts and legal justification which have been presented. As is stated in the filing, “..the Court cannot let the politically charged campaign against Mexican Americas Studies in TUSD result in discrimination against the District’s Latino students.”
The anti-Mexican American Studies campaign has been insidious and is derived from a place of discriminatory sentiment. Those leading the campaign within the state, TUSD and within our community have intentionally fueled fear and division within the Tucson community through their consistent repetition of false information about the MAS Department and in so doing have targeted and harmed only one ethnic studies program and only one population of students. To a certain point it has worked; TUSD is splintered; unity within the Tucson community has been fractured and real harm has come to Latino students in the largest local public school system. It is imperative that the campaign not succeed beyond the point already reached and that the Court not accept the District’s explanation for its actions in suspending MAS courses since through the Mendoza filings it is now most clear that the effect of that action is to discriminate against TUSD’s Latino students on the basis of their national origin. Factual information is powerful- as are the constitutional rights of all TUSD Latino students!
This article appears in Mar 15-21, 2012.
Sanctimonious BS drivel… from the LOSERS. Its time to be Americans again.. not one “group” set apart…
Yo quiero taco bell
As a native American,and native Tucsonan I find this crap offensive. Mexican American Studies are racist and has incited hatred and racism to anyone who is not hispanic. These liberal radical teachers need to have their creditentials pulled,nd banned from teaching (indoctrinating) students. The books are not published in the US and are from Mexico, and even teach in part how great communism is, and yet look at Uncle fedel, who recemtly stated that Communism is a failure. So “Mexican Amercan Legal defense Fund”, why not focus on real hispanic issues, like forcing drivers from Mexico to carry American insurance, and not fleeing to Mexico when they hit American drivers.
Our children are in need of all our educational resources to teach….MATH, SCIENCE, READING and CRITICAL THINKING. When the US is #1 in the world….then think about teaching them about Cinco de Mayo……
If the Mexican american studies are returned I would like my tax money back.I am not going to pay so that people are taught to hate America.If Mexico is so great then why are there so many people ,that have left Mexico due to poverty, wanting to change this country to be like the country they left.
I believe all american children should have a complete class dedicated to the study of carnitas chile verde.
Mexican-American studies are not racist, and claiming so shows a misunderstanding for what racism means. Not teaching Mexican-American studies does show a significant level of ignorance. The culture in this area is not pure American culture, whatever that is. It is a Mexican-American culture, and it is seen in our food, our architecture, our idioms, our dress, and many other parts of our daily lives.
America has always been prone to ignoring history or at least being ignorant–willfully or otherwise–about history. We see our historical ignorance in our dealings with Arabs, Persians, Muslims (yes, I purposely drew a distinction between religion and different cultures in the Middle East), and other cultures and religions; in the wars in which we involve ourselves (Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan); and so on. We’ve assumed that our vast defense resources somehow will make up for what we lack in historical perspective and intellect, in foresight, and in critical thought. Alas, that is almost never the case.
We live in the Southwest and should know of its history. To do otherwise makes us ignorant. Rather than respecting a person who’s bilingual, for knowing more than one language–too often they’re belittled. That isn’t just racist, it’s stupid. Education of your surroundings is something everyone should know. You know the old saying, “When in Rome, do as the Romans….” When in AZ, know its history!
“It is a Mexican-American culture, and it is seen in our food, our architecture, our idioms, our dress, and many other parts of our daily lives”
So if it’s already around us and we live with it, why dedicate a class to it??
In all honesty if these kids had any real intention of learning about their culture, then they would probably do it in their spare time. Or instead of being bitter about taking it out of schools, why not cram it down their throats with shit you already know they do, like hours upon hours of wasted time on facebook. start teaching it to them on facebook and all that other wasted social site shit they use, or and i’m just saying, maybe most of these loud mouth parents should stop being lazy and take these little turds to a library.
Remember those? yeah they have books about culture from all over the world.
It’s as if “conservatives’ don’t know know what equal protection of the law means or what forthwith means, or what the 14th amendment of the U.S.A. Constitution means. What they really fear is Chicano political emowerment. Their “conservatism” is code for racism. Let’s be honest, what they really want is for these young Chicano’s and Chicana’s is not to succeed and to go on to higher education, like what is happening as a direct result of MAS classes @ Tucson High and elsewhere. Insofar as alligence to the U.S. of A; Latinos and more specifically Chicanos are highly decorated for bravery and courage under fire of combat. They have joined the Armed forces in record numbers; they do this to prove their loyalty and to express their love of their country. Again, let’s be brutally honest; all this rhreoric is CODE to Chicanos: both the students and the community: we don’t want you to become empowered, we want to put you back in your place, back to the 1940’s, 1950’s and sixties. Chicanos are getting smarter, and their population is drastically increasing and Anglos Saxon protestants population is diminishing and they see it as a threat, to the good ole’ boy system of State Government, they want us back in the fields, picking their crops for pennies like Gallo and Nixon in California and even in AZ. Well let me tell you buddy, We’re not going back to the status quo. We aren’t going back to the back of the bus anymore. We’re not going back to the good ole’boy system of state government where they make legislative decisions in smoked filled back-rooms and practice the darkside. No way, no how. We are going to continue to progress and succeed! Get it, Got it. Good.
-Manny Gracia