Arizona State Board of Education votes to cut DEI standards to comply with Trump executive order
The Arizona State Board of Education voted to begin removing language from state classroom standards relating to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).
Lawmakers in the state drafted and sent a letter to the board saying that 'Arizona’s students deserve better than to have their language instruction diluted by ideological philosophies and turned into a political debate.'
The Arizona State Board of Education has voted to begin removing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) from the state curriculum to reshape teaching standards.
Now, Arizona’s Structured English Immersion curriculum and the Arizona Professional Teaching Standards will have term and systems redefined to be in compliance with federal instructions, removing DEI baselines, as reported by AZCentral.
In January, President Trump signed an executive order that directed federal government agencies to begin removing DEI from school standards.
Then in November, Arizona legislators sent a letter to the Arizona State Board of Education voicing their “Support for ADE’s Recommendation Striking Language to Comply with Federal Standards.”
Within the letter, legislators mentioned President Trump’s executive order, and stated that, “The state cannot ignore this directive without jeopardizing critical federal funding streams.”
The legislators also mentioned a state statute on education, A.R.S. § 15-756.01, which the group said “is intended to be a model focused only on research-based English language acquisition.”
The group added that “The insertion of DEI-aligned language, political ideology, or racialized theories is not only outside the scope of the statute, but it also actively undermines the purpose of SEI by introducing content that divides classrooms, distracts educators, and shifts instructional time away from what the law actually requires.”
The legislators closed the letter by urging the Arizona Board of Education to ensure that “Arizona’s standards must be academically focused, legally compliant, and free from political manipulation.”
Arizona State schools chief Tom Horne commented on the letter after it was sent, saying that, “This is essential not just because DEI language improperly emphasizes race over individual merit, but it threatens $866 million in federal education funds under the President’s recent Executive Order.”
The Board of Education had previously voted to table the discussion, and revisit it this month as the Board wanted to gain clarifications on what compliance would look like, as reported by ABC15 Arizona.
One group, the Arizona Education Association (AEA), also sent a letter to the Board of Education within the state, countering the lawmaker’s letter and asking the board to reject the proposal.
Inside of the AEA’s letter, the group urged the Board of Education to “table the Arizona Department of Education’s proposal and guard against further political interference in our public schools.”
The AEA describes itself as a “professional association and a labor union, advocating on behalf of students, staff, and teachers in Arizona,” which also has 20,000 members.
Campus Reform has contacted the Arizona State Board of Education for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
