Tucson , Arizona , public schools suspended their Mexican-American studies program after an administrative law judge ruled it violated a new state law and the state said the local district was going to lose $ 15 million in annual aid , officials said . The Governing Board of the Tucson Unified School District voted late Tuesday to suspend immediately the Mexican-American studies department , marking a turning point in a yearlong controversy over a new state law banning certain ethnic studies . `` The district shall revise its social studies core curriculum to increase its coverage of Mexican-American history and culture , including a balanced presentation of diverse viewpoints on controversial issues . The end result shall be a single common social studies core sequence through which all high school students are exposed to diverse viewpoints , '' the governing board said in a statement . `` The district shall study and bring to the board new measures designed to narrow the achievement gaps for traditionally underserved and economically disadvantaged students , '' the board said . The board action came in the wake of Friday 's order by Arizona State Superintendent John Huppenthal to withhold 10 % -- or about $ 15 million a year -- of state aid to the Tucson district retroactive to August 15 , 2011 , according to a copy of the order posted on the district 's website . The state superintendent 's order was , in turn , made after last month 's ruling by an administrative law judge that found the program 's curriculum was teaching Latino history and culture `` in a biased , political , and emotionally charged manner , '' and upheld state officials ' findings that it violated a state law passed in 2010 . The Tucson Unified School District had appealed a decision by the law 's chief backer , then-state schools superintendent Tom Horne , to shut down the program . Horne left office at the end of 2010 , but his successor , Huppenthal , backed Horne 's ruling in June . Under the law , the state can withhold 10 % of its funding for the school district until the district changes the course . During their appeal , district officials pointed out that an audit commissioned by Huppenthal praised the program and found `` no observable evidence '' that the classes violated state law . A witness for the school system argued that teaching students `` historical facts of oppression and racism '' was less likely to promote `` racial resentment '' -- something specifically banned by the 2010 law -- than ignoring that history . In last month 's ruling , administrative law judge Lewis Kowal said the auditors observed only a limited number of classes . He added , `` Teaching oppression objectively is quite different than actively presenting material in a biased , political , and emotionally charged manner . '' Tucson educators who have challenged the constitutionality of the new law in court have defended the Mexican-American studies program as no different than African-American or Native American studies classes . Tucson school board member Adelita Grijalva has charged that the new law provided no due process and was unconstitutional . She has said the new law is part of an anti-immigrant political climate in the Arizona statehouse . At Tuesday night 's meeting , Grijalva unsuccessfully urged the board to preserve the program , saying the district should appeal , according to CNN affiliate KGUN . `` This is a group of passionate people about their education and the education of their children . This is not a militarized group that wants to overthrow the government . This is not a group that is seeking ethnic solidarity . This is a group that wants their children to understand about their culture and their role in our American history and our lives , '' Grijalva said during the board meeting . Grijalva was the sole `` no '' vote in the board 's 4-1 decision to suspend the program . The new schools law is the latest controversy in a state already roiled by an immigration crackdown law , known as SB 1070 , that is being challenged on constitutional grounds in federal court . The Arizona-Mexico border is considered the nation 's busiest for illegal immigration . The law authorizes the state superintendent to stop any ethnic studies classes that promote the overthrow of the U.S. government , promote resentment toward a race or class of people , are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals .
The program is suspended after an administrative judge said it violated a new state law . A federal appeals court in Washington ruled that the policy was unconstitutional and ordered its immediate reinstatement. One Tucson school board member calls the new law unconstitutional .