Arizona’s Far-Reaching Ethnic Studies Ban

Last Tuesday Tucson Unified School District voted to end its Mexican-American Studies program to comply with an Arizona State Law banning ethnic studies.   The administration released a list of seven books teachers would have to remove from their curriculum including titles like “Critical Race Theory” and “Rethinking Columbus: The next 500 Years.” Teachers are also being advised to avoid books that address themes of race, ethnicity, and oppression. One such targeted text is Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” Lorenzo Lopez teaches history and civics to 11th and 12th graders at Cholla High School in Tucson.  Buzz Conover is a senior political reporter at Arizona Public Media.