TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) -
In the middle of a budget crisis and possible school closures, the
Tucson Unified School District voted tonight to remove their objection
to the desegregation plan that includes Mexican American studies as the
core of its curriculum.
Such a plan aims to ensure that all students in the district, no
matter where they live or what their ethnicity, will receive the same
standard of education as all others. TUSD was sued in the 1970's by
both a Mexican American family and an African American family who said
their children were not receiving the same education as white students.
The Department of Justice joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff. As part
of the settlement, the district has been monitored by the federal
government, received funding, and faced restrictions to correct any
imbalance for the past 30 years. But the proposed plan would provide a
path to end that and ensure a unitary status in the district in about
four years.
Once the federal judge receives the proposal, the district and the
plaintiffs will likely find out in January whether the plan is accepted
and what must be done.
You can read the 60-page plan online to see what the district could have to do.
JD Wallace will have more on this story at Fox 11 at 9 p.m. and KOLD News 13 at 10 p.m.
Copyright 2012 Tucson News Now. All rights reserved.
