Backing off the American values teaching bill

SB1108 includes some stark language and bold ideas. It would take tax dollars away from schools that taught values contrary to "Western civilization" or encouraged "dissent" against American democratic principles. It would enable Tom Horne, Superintedent of Public Instruction, to demand school districts turn over cirriculae and course materials for review to determine whether they were in compliance. It would ban groups on college campuses from being in whole or in part based on race.

The bill comes about in response to one course on La Raza, taught in the Tucson Unified School District, in which some course materials include what Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Russell Pearce (R-Mesa) calls language inciting "sedition" and "revolution." Critics of the bill charge that the passages in question have been taken out of context, and that any move to eliminate the course should come from the school board, not be initiated at the state level.

Last night on PBS's program Horizon, State Rep. David Lujan (D-Phoenix), who opposes the bill, said it represents an "overreaching attempt to have a chilling effect on education throughout the state." He advocates dealing with it via the TUSD and calls it an "isolated incident."

Rep. Pearce, who was Lujan's opponent on the show, didn't generally agree with him, calling the course materials "garbage" and empasizing that they represented "hate speech." However, he did yield on the point.

"This bill, I have to admit, is fairly broad. There are good things in it, but it's written too broadly."

Pearce denied responsibility for the inclusion of the "Western civilization" language, and said it came out of legislative counsel. He said the bill is undergoing a "major revision" to narrow the focus.

Tom Horne indicated he supports the move to mellow the bill. He told PolitickerAZ that he doesn't even necessarily think legislation is the right way to go.

"Up until now I've tried to use the bully pulpit of my office to alert the voters of Tucson and been hoping they'd solve it themselves," he said. "It may be that legislation is necessary but that isn't my agenda," said Horne, saying that he did not call for the legislation and agreed it was too broad.

It looks, then, that a narrower focus will be applied to the legislation, though it is doubtful that will stop the exchange over what is allowable to be taught in schools and where the line between permissible dissent and sedition is drawn. And at least on that point all sides are agreed: the debate is an expression of the most American value of all.