Ethnic Studies appeal hearing begins in Phoenix Friday

by David Safier

It's time for the next stage of the Mexican American Studies battle: TUSD's appeal hearing testing Huppenthal's finding that MAS violates the law. Save Ethnic Studies is asking people to attend.

The hearing dates for TUSD's appeal against Supt. Huppenthal's finding have been set! Administrative Law Judge Kowell will be presiding over the hearings. The hearings are set for Friday, August 19, 2011, Tuesday, August 23, 2011, and Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 8:00 am. No room assignments have been made but we will update you as soon as they are. The hearings will take place at 1400 West Washington, Suite 101, Phoenix, AZ 85007.

Please come and show your support for the program!!!!

No saying what will happen. According to a Capitol Times article (subscription only), Huppenthal's side will be calling TUSD Board President Mark Stegeman and member Michael Hicks as witnesses. Both have a strong grudge against MAS. Stegeman wants to make it an elective, and Hicks wants to end it outright. It will be interesting to hear what they say. Stegeman said about his testimony,

“Obviously, I’m not taking the position that we’re in violation of the law because that would contradict the board’s expressed position and be inconsistent with my fiduciary responsibility to the district,” Stegeman said. “The state feels my answers help them in some way or they wouldn’t be asking me to come down.”

Interesting. So even if he badmouths the program, he won't say it's against the law, or so he says.

Hupp is also calling two parents. One is strongly against MAS. The other is a conservative whose daugher is in the program and who supports it. I think the lawyer's plan is to show how the woman and her daughter have been brainwashed, to demonstrate how evil the program really is. "Why, if MAS can turn a good conservative woman into a raging Chicano lover, it's even worse than we imagined!" How deeply has she been brainwashed? She says, if Ethnic Studies is removed, she plans to vote Democratic, and get as many others as possible to do the same. The horror! The horror!

TUSD is planning to call Huppenthal, some school principals, an assistant Superintendent and the person who led the outside MAS audit, which concluded it's a damn successful program that doesn't violate the law.