Mesa Public Schools (MPS) board member and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) East Valley chapter president Kiana Sears says more discussions about race need to occur.
Sears issued the remarks in an interview with The Mesa Tribune regarding the recent Supreme Court decision effectively ending the practice of affirmative action in college admissions. Sears advocated for the use of equity in policy, rather than equality, to make up for systemic racial inequalities. She acknowledged that people may have the same capabilities, but that circumstances should be mitigated to equalize outcomes.
“There is a local angst about the [ruling], especially in the climate where you have seen,” said Sears. “There’s no difference in the capacity of people to learn and to grow and to actually learn[,] but you have unnatural and man-made barriers and institutional barriers that make it harder for some people.”
According to Sears, avoidance of prioritizing race in conversations is due in part to the demonization of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and related concepts like “inclusivity.” Upon taking office in January, Arizona Department of Education (ADE) Superintendent Tom Horne disavowed the presence of CRT in schools and launched a hotline for parents to report inappropriate lessons on racial, gender-based, sexual, and social and emotional ideologies.
Over the summer, ADE reported receiving numerous valid complaints of inappropriate materials at schools, including MPS. Horne reported at the time that MPS was working with ADE to resolve the complaint.
“A teacher reported through the hotline that the Mesa school district has a training program for teachers that clearly states that certain Americans are ‘living under a system of white supremacy.’ That is a divisive and bigoted statement that has no place in education,” said Horne. “We are individuals, entitled to be judged by what we know, what we can do, our character, and not the color of our skin.”
During this most recent interview, Sears accused the hotline of creating a climate of “fear and intimidation.”
Sears also implied that race-conscious interactions and practices result in a greater good for everyone.
“[It’s important] to make sure if we have a population that is not doing as well, for whatever reason, we remove those barriers,” said Sears. “We know we’re as strong as our weakest link. No matter who, what, when, why, let’s remove all of those barriers.”
Sears was twice chosen as the MPS representative to attend the National School Boards Association (NSBA). MPS opted to remain with NSBA despite the national controversy over their 2021 letter to President Joe Biden requesting a federal investigation into parents attending school board meetings.
In addition to attending the NSBA events, Sears was elected the secretary/treasurer of NSBA’s National Black Council of School Board Members Board of Directors. Two other Arizonans serve on that board: chair Devin Del Palacio with the Tolleson Union High School District, and regional director Lindsay Love with Chandler Unified School District.
Following the SCOTUS decision, Sears’ NAACP branch held an event, “Affirming Black Brilliance,” to discuss strategies for ensuring racial equity in education. It appears that Sears runs the publicity for the branch as well, since she is the only point of contact for all press, media, and public comment requests.
Sears became the NAACP branch president in 2021. Last January, STN featured Sears for her roles as an NAACP president and MPS governing board member. Similarly to her recent call to action, Sears called for a greater focus on race.
Arizona List, a committee for pro-abortion Democratic women, endorses Sears in her role as an MPS Governing Board member.
In addition to her role as an NAACP president and MPS board member, Sears serves as the program director for Arizona State University (ASU) Faith Based Outreach and Community Partnerships.
Sears was the 2018 Democratic nominee for the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). The Arizona Attorney General’s Office launched and later dropped an investigation into Sears for failing to disclose dormant businesses when she launched her campaign, upon a referral by the Secretary of State’s Office. Sears said at the time that these were name-only businesses, meaning she and her husband filed for business names to reserve them with the intent to one day turn them into actual businesses.
Last year, Sears’ campaign was again mired in controversy. Sears faced bribery accusations for her hire of former Democratic State Rep. and Minority Leader Reginald Bolding, through his political consulting firm “Blue Wave Victory.” Sears paid Bolding’s company over $18,000 in a contract that Bolding’s then-opponent, now-Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, alleged was influence peddling.
Bolding managed the firm alongside the former first vice chair for the Arizona Democratic Party and former congressional candidate, Jevin Hodge, to provide services for Sears’ campaign. In a complaint letter to former Attorney General Mark Brnovich, Fontes’ campaign accused Bolding and Hodge of having “sold their positions as a means of access to others in exchange for monetary gain.”
As Fontes’ letter noted, Bolding’s political consulting firm operated out of the same building and suite as his controversial nonprofits.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Arizona’s Republican Schools Chief is taking the state’s Democrat Governor and Attorney General to court.
Last week, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced that he had “filed a lawsuit against Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes for a judicial declaration that all schools must obey a voter passed and protected initiative that English language learners must be taught in English immersion rather than dual language.”
In a statement that accompanied the press release, Horne said, “Governor Hobbs is named as a defendant because of a court of appeals decision stating that the governor is a proper defendant in these kinds of cases because of the constitutional requirement that she see it to it that the laws are faithfully executed. Attorney General Mayes is named because the same case states that an action questioning the constitutionality of a law names the Attorney General. A law passed by the legislature in 2019 has been interpreted by some as authorizing dual language instruction. This is incorrect because the voter-protection law is part of the Arizona Constitution and any change to a voter-protected initiative must further the purpose of what voters intended. Dual language instruction is the opposite of the initiative’s purpose.”
The Arizona Department of Education provided context for the initiative in question, adding, “The initiative, which passed by a margin of over 60%, states explicitly: ‘All children in Arizona public schools should be taught English by being taught in English, and all children shall be placed in English language classrooms.’”
Horne also said, “The fundamental purpose of the initiative is that students be taught throughout the school day in English, so they become proficient in English quickly, and can succeed academically, and not that they be taught half a day in another language, which would stunt their ability to master English.”
According to the Department, “the lawsuit also names as a defendant the Creighton school district, which is among the handful of districts defying the law established by the voter approved and protected initiative. The district’s rate of English Language Learners becoming proficient in English last year was 5.1%. This contrasts with some districts referred to in the complaint that have structured English immersion and who’s rates range from 23.87% to 33.03%.”
The lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court for the State of Arizona in the County of Maricopa. Horne asked the Court to declare that “A.R.S. 15-756.01 is unconstitutional if its intent was to authorize dual language without waiver, because it does not further the voter-protected initiative’s purpose that children be taught in English for the entire school day, in order for them to quickly become proficient in English”; and that the State Board’s dual language model, if it is without statutory waivers, is in violation of Arizona law, and the Defendant Attorney General’s opinion that district and charter schools can rely on the State Board’s dual language model without waivers is legal error.”
The court filing from the Arizona Department of Education fulfills a promise made by Horne earlier this summer to take this issue to the judiciary. The scuttle between Horne, Mayes, and Democrat legislators began on June 19, when the Superintendent announced that “public schools that are not teaching English Language Learners in English as required by state law risk losing funds for this legal violation.” Horne said at the time, “Proposition 203, the voter protected initiative passed in 2000, specified that classes for English Language Learners must be taught in English: ‘all children in Arizona public schools shall be taught English by being taught in English and all children shall be placed in English language classrooms.’”
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes issued an opinion to answer the question of “which state entity has statutory authority to eliminate a model of structured English immersion approved by the State Board of Education.” Mayes sent her findings to Democrat Representatives Jennifer Pawlik, Laura Terech, Nancy Gutierrez, and Judy Schwiebert.
In her opinion, Mayes wrote, “Arizona law is clear that the Board has the sole authority to eliminate or modify an approved SEI model. The Board also has the sole authority to determine whether a school district or charter school has failed to comply with Arizona law governing English language learners. Only those school districts and charter schools found by the Board to be noncompliant are barred from receiving monies from the English language learner fund.”
The Attorney General declined to answer the Representatives’ question of “whether the Dual Language Immersion SEI Model approved by the Board is consistent with Arizona law.”
The battle over the Structured English Immersion law is the second significant conflict between the Attorney General and Superintendent this year. Horne and Mayes have been locked in escalating public disputes over the state’s universal school choice program.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A professor hailing from China with a World Economic Forum (WEF) background is behind critical race and gender theory research on children at two of Arizona’s taxpayer-funded universities.
Sonya Xinyue Xiao teaches psychological science and performs developmental research on moral and gender development at Northern Arizona University (NAU). Xiao was a postdoctoral scholar at the Arizona State University (ASU) T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (SSFD) from 2020 to 2022, where she taught until last year. NAU has Xiao on a tenure track.
Presently, Xiao is also an affiliated research fellow for the Cultural Resilience and Learning Center (CRLC) in California and a member of the Diversity Scholars Network in the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan (UM). Xiao’s UM profile declares her social priority on children, youth, and families, with her specific focus pertaining to that priority on gender, sexuality, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, social class, and socioeconomic status.
“[Xiao] is investigating how early adolescents’ multiple intersecting identities in gender and race/ethnicity are related to their prosocial behavior toward diverse others over time, with youth from diverse ethnic racial backgrounds,” stated her UM profile.
Additionally, Xiao has served as the programming committee member for the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) Caucus of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) since 2021. The SRCD has repeatedly opposed efforts to restrict or ban gender transitions for minors.
Xiao’s published research papers have declared the need for parents to raise their children to embrace gender theory in themselves and their peers, under the claim that rejection results in poor social and emotional outcomes later in life, as well as to engage their children in diverse friendships, under the claim that those as young as preschoolers can be racist.
Characteristics aligning with progressive critical race and gender theories are what Xiao defines as “prosocial behaviors” throughout her research.
Finally, the last paper I started in grad school class on #gender is out in time for #PrideMonth! I was auditing carol's gender class, and that was the semester when covid hit….The paper has been in submission for 14months! Nonpaywalled version here: https://t.co/VEHUH7WEtN
— Sonya Xinyue Xiao, Ph.D. (@SonyaXinyueXiao) May 30, 2023
Last year, Xiao contributed to a chapter entry in a book, “Gender and Sexuality Development.” The chapter expanded the understanding of gender to many gender identities.
Check out this new meta-analysis on understanding predictors of prejudice toward trans individuals 👏 The authors tested 15 predictors, all but one are important (e.g.,political orientation, social dominance orientation, religiosity, gender essentialism) https://t.co/Q16biGeq2m
Xiao’s work includes “gender integration,” which studies the differences between genders with the ultimate goal of total integration. Xiao’s team with the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (SSSFD) holds the belief that gender is fluid and not binary; they receive federal funding through the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
Xiao’s research has also relied on participants’ self-reported gender identities. Elsewhere, her current research team’s most recent release of preliminary findings asked children “how much they think they look like girls and how much they think they look like boys,” and reported that 10 percent thought they looked like both genders, and nearly one percent believing they didn’t look like either gender.
we are doing school-based research in AZ now and ask an open-ended question "what's your gender?” and the reader/experimenter says "for example, I am a girl."
In May, Xiao’s work on gender integration was featured in an IES blog series focusing on “research conducted through an equity lens.” SSSFD professor Carol Martin said that their work aims to achieve diversity, equity, and inclusion in education. Martin further insisted that teachers need to break up naturally-occuring gender segregation in their students to encourage diversity.
“We study the importance of having diverse classrooms (mixed-gender in our case) and breaking down barriers that separate people from each other but stress that this diversity matters only when it is perceived as inclusive and fosters a sense of belonging,” said Martin. “For some students, additional supports might be needed to feel included, and we hope to identify which students may need these additional supports and what types of support they need to promote equity in classrooms around issues of social belongingness.”
— Sonya Xinyue Xiao, Ph.D. (@SonyaXinyueXiao) May 6, 2023
According to her LinkedIn, Xiao attended Tianjin University of Science and Technology before beginning her career as a teacher at Zhenguang Primary School in Shanghai, China. While at Tianjin, Xiao had two notable back-to-back volunteering stints in 2010: first, a two-month gig at the Shanghai World EXPO 2010, then a month-long gig at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Summer Davos. For the latter gig with the WEF, Xiao reported providing document and verbal translation at the Lishunde Hotel, as well as assistance to conference attendees.
China’s practice of its cultural subversion tactics on U.S. soil, especially involving children, have been widely reported over the years, most recently concerning TikTok. While the Beijing-based company behind the app pushes content ranging from the mind-numbing to dangerous to foreigners, it restricts Chinese youth to a domestic version, Douyin, which contains only educational and inspirational content. In its short existence, TikTok has become a major influence in American children’s development.
Papers published while at ASU or NAU where Xiao was the principal author are listed below:
Xiao has also contributed in over a dozen other research papers uplifting critical race and gender theories, as well as promoting “nurturant parenting,” described as inductive discipline and punishment avoidance, versus the disciplinary model of “restrictive parenting,” described as punitiveness, corporal punishment, and strictness. That paper on nurturant versus restrictive parenting further advised that white parents should avoid restrictive parenting to ensure their children behaved better toward non-white peers.
Other papers to which Xiao contributed argued that white parents who claimed to be color-blind or were displaying evidence of “implicit racial bias” caused their children to have less empathy toward Black children.
Football season has reserved the attention of many of Arizona’s Republican and Democrat legislators.
Late last month, a bipartisan coalition of 35 lawmakers sent a letter to the President of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), urging the NCAA to “revisit its decision to deny a transfer waiver for football player Jake Smith.” The communication was led by Republican Representative Joseph Chaplik.
✅FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE✅ Bipartisan Group of Legislators Call on NCAA to Reconsider Denial of Transfer Waiver for ASU Football Hopeful Jake Smith
The release explains that “Jake Smith, an accomplished football player and former wide receiver at Notre Dame Prep in Scottsdale, has faced a series of challenges that have hindered his playing opportunities” – specifically during “his abbreviated 2020 season at UT Austin due to injuries and subsequent surgeries.” The release adds, “After receiving medical clearance to play football by UT, Smith transferred to USC in 2022 to be closer to home, only to be told his foot was not healed and ruled a medical non-transfer by the USC institution. He then transferred to ASU in January 2023 in hopes of continuing his college football career.”
Smith appealed to the NCAA in hopes of receiving a waiver to become immediately eligible during the 2023 season for the Arizona State University Sun Devils, yet was denied his request earlier in August.
Representative Chaplik issued the following statement in conjunction with the release of his letter: “Jake’s situation is a prime example of the challenges student athletes have faced, exacerbated by the pandemic. The NCAA’s decision not only affects his career but also sets a precedent that we believe undermines its commitment to the well-being of student athletes. The transfer portal does need to be restricted, but it also needs to have exceptions for unique situations such as Jake’s.”
I’m calling for the NCAA to allow Jake Smiths portal exemption so he can have the opportunity to play football this season for @ASUFootballhttps://t.co/wA3z7K5iM5
After news of the NCAA’s decision broke, new football head coach Kenny Dillingham told reporters, “Jake’s battled and battled and been through so much in his football career and to have something that means so much to him taken away – after all the work you put in – you know, it’s not the right thing to do for the kid. Everything we should do in college athletics should be about the kids – not the adults.”
In their letter, the group of Arizona legislators wrote: “…It goes without saying that many student athletes’ careers have been derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is imperative that the NCAA take this into account and carefully consider the circumstances of each athlete to ensure a consistent and fair application of the NCAA’s rules. The NCAA should determine whether a student athlete has a legitimate reason to seek a transfer waiver and whether colleges are being honest with their athletes when they make medical decisions that have a direct impact on those students’ athletic success and future. Being a student athlete brings great responsibility to the student, but more importantly, the NCAA should be empowered to help students in these unique situations.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
This week, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced that he was “making $40 million available to parents of elementary grade students to pay for free tutoring in reading, writing and math beginning October 2.”
Superintendent Horne is laser focused on raising academic outcomes for students. This new tutoring program will help our students learn! #EducationForAllhttps://t.co/ESOrPN9V8i
According to the release sent out from the Arizona Department of Education, the funding source for these re-allocated dollars originates from a federal government 2021 program, which allowed the previous Superintendent to distribute funds earmarked to help “overcome pandemic-related learning loss” to several organizations around the state. In August, Horne’s administration asked these organizations “to provide evidence of the academic impact of their work, and those who could not show reasonable impact for the money had their contracts cancelled or reduced.”
Parents will have options of public school teachers or private tutoring companies to assist with their children’s educational development under this program. The Department projected the $40 million would cover approximately 1.3 million hours of tutoring.
The schools chief explained his action, saying, “My first priority as Superintendent is to raise academic outcomes, therefore I am making $40 million available so parents whose children did not test as proficient can get free tutoring for students in first through eighth grades.”
Superintendent Horne is confident that his program will achieve results for Arizona children, promising, “If they cannot show increased academic outcomes, I will, with this massive tutoring program.”
Horne also discussed the impact this stream of funding would have on teachers who participated in this reimagined program. He said, “Public school teachers who tutor will be paid $30 an hour and will earn a $200 stipend for each student who shows a one-half year gain from the tutoring. A teacher who tutors the maximum amount would earn an extra approximately $8,000. I believe teachers deserve more pay, which is why I supported Rep. Matt Gress’s recent bill for a $10,000 raise. I was shocked to see that the Governor and teachers’ union opposed it. If they won’t help teachers get more money, I will.”
More details are expected to become available for this new program on September 15. Members of the public and interested parties can visit the Arizona Department of Education’s website to learn more after that date.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The University of Arizona (UArizona) is allegedly teaching nursing students to introduce preschoolers to transgenderism.
In two class slides obtained by Libs of TikTok, nursing students are told to ask pediatric patients aged three to 13 years old about their gender identity. The students are given a script to read, in which they advise the child that inside feelings determine gender and that objective truth doesn’t exist.
“Some kids feel like a girl on the inside, some kids feel like a boy on the inside, and some kids feel like neither, both, or someone else,” read the suggested script. “How do you feel on the inside? There’s no right or wrong answer.”
The second slide advised nursing students to begin asking patients about gender identity around the age of three years old, specifically.
Research indicates that children don’t begin to make clear distinctions between reality and fiction until after seven years old. Prior to that point and starting around the age of two, children begin to “play pretend.” This aspect of childhood is expressed through the belief in fantasy beings such as Santa Claus, invented entities such as imaginary friends, and storylines explored through play such as their role in a Power Rangers “battle.” One study found that four-year-old children believed Big Bird from “Sesame Street” was real.
Notably, researchers have found that children were more likely to accept information when they believed someone was an expert or credible source on a topic. This indicates a self-fulfilling prophecy: if a nurse tells a child to believe it’s possible to swap genders or be neither gender, and further tell that child that no objective truth about gender exists, then the child is more likely to believe and accept that as truth.
AZ Free News reached out to the nursing school for details on the slides, such as the class from which they came. They didn’t respond by press time.
SCOOP: University of Arizona nursing school is teaching future nurses that 3-year-olds can know they are transgender. They’re also being taught to start questioning patients as young as 3 about their gender.
UArizona still refers individuals seeking transgender procedures for minors to El Rio Health on its LGBTQ Community Resources page, describing the provision of “affirming, respectful, and quality healthcare to pediatric and adult transgender and gender non-conforming communities.” The listed services include hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and “sensitive referrals.” However, the link on the university page no longer exists, likely due to Arizona laws banning such procedures for minors.
El Rio clinic gender transitions for minors were provided by Andrew Cronyn for years prior to the recent changes in Arizona law. Cronyn initially turned away minors for gender transition procedures; by 2014, Cronyn said he relented and accepted his first minor patient.
UArizona hosted Cronyn as a guest speaker for his work on transitioning children.
Feb. 15: @UAhealthnet LGBTQ+ Interest Series presents "Transgender Healthcare." Dr. Andrew Cronyn will discuss the Transgender Youth Program at El Rio and the healthcare transformation to LGBTQ Affirming, patient-centered care. RSVP is requested. Info: https://t.co/vxrJujTQbqpic.twitter.com/Xvt9zXzqJZ
The American Nurses Association (ANA), which defines standards for nurses, issued a statement last October condemning restrictions and bans on gender transition procedures for minors. As of January, ANA’s president is Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, a UArizona alumna and, up until last year, an Arizona State University (ASU) nursing instructor.
In May, ANA issued another statement opposing restrictions and bans on gender procedures. Mensik Kennedy advocated for the unfettered right for patients to obtain “gender-affirming care” from health care providers.
“Discrimination does not belong in health care and has no place in nursing practice,” said Mensik Kennedy. “Unfortunately, people are dying from the lack of access to this critical care. The delivery of modern and culturally sensitive care requires that no patient be left without the care that they need, seek, and require.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
