PHOENIX — Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced Wednesday that he plans to report the Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) to the federal government, claiming the district teaches material that violates the state’s new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) compliance policy.
Horne said SUSD would be added to a list of noncompliant districts that declined to sign a recent DEI policy form, potentially risking their access to federal education funds.
Textbook Content Under Fire
Horne criticized excerpts from American and Arizona History by Savvas Learning Company during a press conference. He pointed to a passage referencing Black Lives Matter and systemic racism as one-sided and ideologically driven.
“One passage says racism is ‘deeply embedded’ in American society,” Horne said. “That’s a controversial opinion—not a neutral educational perspective.”
He also objected to sections covering LGBTQ+ issues and discussions of law enforcement in political contexts, arguing that such content unfairly portrays police.
Law Enforcement Voices Concern
Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan joined Horne at the press conference, condemning the textbook’s messaging about law enforcement as harmful.
“When schools suggest police are inherently oppressive, they undermine community trust,” Sheridan said, asserting that such teachings were offensive to officers and counterproductive to public safety efforts.
District Pushes Back
Scottsdale Unified responded by rejecting what it called “baseless accusations,” defending the textbook as thoroughly vetted and compliant with state standards.
“This is not indoctrination,” the district said in a statement. “These claims are not grounded in fact.”
SUSD also noted that other districts, including Peoria Unified, use the same textbook. Horne claimed Peoria had some material removed before use, suggesting that SUSD could have done the same.
Empower Hotline Sparked Review
The Arizona Department of Education reportedly became aware of the textbook through its “Empower Hotline,” a tip line launched in 2023 for parents to report allegedly inappropriate lessons.
The situation is part of a broader debate in Arizona over DEI in public education and the limits of political content in classrooms.
