Tom Horne, Arizona state superintendent of public instruction, criticized Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs’ June 10 veto of legislation that would have allowed public school students and their families to sue teachers over antisemitic content in the classroom.
“This is a terrible error in judgment on the part of the governor,” Horne stated. “This bipartisan legislation was vital for ensuring that public schools cannot infect students with antisemitic propaganda, and her veto is a slap at the Jewish community and those who fight every day against racism.”
The legislation, HB 2867, sponsored by state representative Michael Way, passed through the state legislature with support from both parties, Horne noted.
“This bill should have been signed into law,” he stated.
A spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Education told JNS that Horne made the statement the day after Hobbs vetoed the bill, but it wasn’t posted on the website until Monday due to a “technical issue.”
Horne highlighted an antisemitic incident at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., in which “the sponsor of UNICEF and the sponsor of Amnesty International, both teachers, brought to the school a totally one-sided, pro-Hamas, anti-Israel presentation that caused some impressionable students to develop antisemitic feelings, which made Jewish students uncomfortable.”
“Our country has been witnessing a large and steady increase in antisemitism,” he stated. “Studies show that it is much more so among young people than among the older generation. It is not true that there are no instances of teachers in Arizona schools teaching antisemitism.”
