Teaching & Modeling that "All Men Are Created Equal": Arizona HB 2281

UPDATE 05/112/10: Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has signed into law the Arizona law HB 2281 forbidding public schools from teaching students to " resent or hate other races or classes of people. " Thanks to JammieWearingFool for word of the final approval.

I think Dr. Martin Luther King would be proud of Arizona's willingness to see the truth that on the road to brotherhood "Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. "

The Bill specifically states that it shall NOT prohibit "discussion of controversial aspects of history", "instruction of the Holocaust, any other act of genocide or the historical oppression of a particular group of people based on ethnicity, race, or class."

ORIGiNAL POST May 1, 2010, 7:30 pm (including link to the full and final bill):

"I have always found that MERCY bears richer fruits than strict justice."
~ Abraham Lincoln

"The way for a young man to rise is to improve himself in every way he can, never suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him."
~ Abraham Lincoln


"Arizona HB 2281 prohibits a school district or charter school from including courses or classes that either promote the overthrow of the United States government or promote resentment toward a race or class of people."

"States that the Legislature finds and declares that public school pupils should be taught to treat and value each other as individuals and not be taught to resent or hate other races or classes of people.

Prohibits ... any courses or classes that:

Ø Promote the overthrow of the United States government.
Ø Promote resentment toward a race or class of people.
Ø Are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group.
Ø Advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.

States that this act cannot be construed to restrict or prohibit:

Ø Courses or classes for Native American pupils that are required to comply with federal law.
Ø The grouping of pupils according to academic performance, including capability in the English language, that may result in a disparate impact by ethnicity.
Ø Courses or classes that include the history of any ethnic group and that are open to all students, unless the course or class violates this act.

"Prohibits rules pertaining to the discipline, suspension, and expulsion of pupils from being based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or ancestry. "

The Full Text of Arizona HB2281 can be found here.

UPDATE May 12 2010: Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has signed this worthy bill into law. The final version of HB 2281 can be found here. (The link opens a PDF file).

"The assertion that "all men are created equal" was of no practical use in effecting our separation from Great Britain and it was placed in the Declaration not for that, but for future use."
~ Abraham Lincoln