UPDATE: CROUCHING WHILE MEXICAN: TUSD escalates militarization of its meetings

A high school student who addressed the school board this Tues about the TUSD-MAS controversy was reportedly pulled out of his classroom yesterday by security personnel. There is more to the story (and this will be updated soon), but to be sure, him being pulled out of his classroom was a direct result of his participation at the school board meeting.

At the same meeting, the issue of armed guards at TUSD school board meeting was brought up. School board member Adelita Grijalva requested an inquiry into how many armed guards are being deployed at each meeting , at what cost, and how long this will last? There may have been 30 audience members at the meeting Tuesday, along with perhaps 20 TUSD officials, employees and school board members. On Tuesday, 9 armed security personnel were visibly present at the meeting. At the recent White House Summit in Tucson, (which was at least 10 times bigger) with many White House administration officials present, there may have been 6 visible officers present.

However, the real travesty has to do with security coming into a classroom for the student during class time.

UPDATE TO STORY

Board member Adelita Grijalva has confirmed that 2 TUSD security officers went into the student's classroom at Tucson High School as a direct result of the "crouching incident" at Tuesday's board meeting.

Initially, the student gave a firm critique of the TUSD Governing Board board and the superintendent for dismantling the district's Mexican American Studies Department. One by one, he criticized their conduct, including, not paying attention to speakers during call to the audience.

After the critique, he went back to his aisle chair.At a certain point he decided not to sit, but instead chose to crouch in the aisle next to his chair. For this the security officers in the board room took an alert position. One approached. He told the student to sit. The student asked why at which point the officer said it was against district policy for anyone to crouch in the aisle. The student asked to see the regulation.

On Thursday, that same TUSD officer, along with another TUSD security officer, went into the student's classroom and removed him from class. Apparently, the administration complied and directed the officers to his classroom.

Grijalva said it was mind-boggling that the Tucson High administration complied, but even more so for the officers to have been there in the first place. The officers purportedly went to show the regulation to the student during class time.

The unresolved question is who authorized and directed these two officers to go into Tucson High and pull the student out of class.

THE STUDENT IS BEING REPRESENTED BY AN ATTORNEY

MORE UPDATES AS IS KNOWN.


They first came after the department, the discipline, then the books... and now the students? Amazing the lack of outrage. Perhaps what's needed is a few thousand petitions to explain to this district that it is not acceptable to ban departments, thrash disciplines, ban books and now go into classrooms to yank out students... for the SERIOUS FELONY OF CROUCHING WHILE MEXICAN...