PHOENIX – Arizona authorities are back in federal court in Tucson this week over a yearslong legal battle against a 2010 state law targeting ethnic studies in public schools that resulted in the shuttering of a popular Mexican-American Studies program, launching tense student protests.
Former Arizona schools chief Tom Horne was behind the battle against the Tucson Unified School District program and is scheduled to testify Tuesday in the case against the law.
A group of Tucson Unified School District students say the law was enacted with discriminatory intent and specifically targeted the Mexican-American program.
Attorneys for the state say that's not the case. They say the program caused racial division and led minority students to see themselves as oppressed.
The courts have upheld most of the law despite claims by students that it was overly broad and violated their First Amendment rights.
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