States

The AERA Boycotts Arizona Over Immigration Law

By Mary Ann Zehr — May 03, 2010 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The governing council of the American Educational Research Association has passed a resolution saying it won’t hold meetings in Arizona until the state’s new controversial immigration law is rescinded. See my colleague Debra Viadero’s post about the resolution at Inside School Research.

The law, which requires local police to inquire about the immigration status of people suspected to be illegally in the country, “is so broad in its reach and enforcement powers that it can have an adverse impact on the freedom to travel or assemble without encroachment,” said the April 30 resolution approved by the governing council.

President-elect Kris Gutierrez, an education professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, also noted in a press release about the resolution that education researchers need to be concerned about the effects the new law may have on children’s learning in fostering a climate of fear.

Last week, the Denver Public Schools banned travel of its employees for work-related trips to Arizona to protest the new immigration law, according to the Denver Post.

Update: The Associated Press reports that hundreds of high school and college students in Colorado left their classes Friday and marched to their state capital, protesting Arizona’s new immigration law.

Related Tags:

A version of this news article first appeared in the Learning the Language blog.