SCOTTSDALE, AZ — A new social studies curriculum adopted by the Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) has sparked heated debate among some parents, educators and law enforcement officials.
At a Wednesday news conference alongside Superintendent Tom Horne, parent Karen Martinson expressed her concerns regarding the curriculum, which was approved by the school board with a 3-2 vote in May.
“We don’t want our kids to be indoctrinated, and that’s the problem with this curriculum,” she said.
The textbook includes material related to the Black Lives Matter movement and controversial police incidents from recent years. It also talked about NFL players kneeling in protest.
“As a Black lady, I don’t want my son learning about Black Lives Matter because it is too violent,” Martinson said.
Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan, as well as Jim Hill, the president of the Maricopa County Colleges Police Association, also joined the press conference, saying they felt the new curriculum was anti-police.
Sheridan said the law enforcement community is “deeply concerned about the mischaracterizations regarding peace officers in our justice system in this current curriculum.”
Hill felt the curriculum did not present all sides and that some material needed more context.
“They want to talk about BLM? Fine. Let's talk about what it was supposed to be, but if we're talking in history, let's go forward and backward. What do we know about BLM now? What did they do? Where did they get their start? What all they've done? And we find out the truth,” Hill said.
However, in the May board meeting where the curriculum was approved, there were some community members speaking in support of the curriculum.
Do you have a concern in your community or a news tip? We want to hear from you!
Connect with us: share@abc15.com
“Is it messy? Yes. Is it uncomfortable? Yes. You may not like the fact that George Floyd is brought up, but Derek Chauvin is serving time for murder. So, if you have a problem with that being discussed and that is somehow anti-police, then I don’t know what to tell you,” one Scottsdale community member said in a public comment.
Another community member attended the May meeting, reading off a petition that was signed by more than 100 students, alumni and parents of Scottsdale students that supported the curriculum.
“Now more than ever, it’s vital to provide students with a comprehensive education rooted in trust and fairness. The adoption in this curriculum is a critical step in ensuring all SUSD students receive the education they deserve,” she read.
Horne said he will notify the federal government about the controversial curriculum, saying SUSD signed a letter saying they wouldn’t teach DEI, something the US Department of Education had been pushing to end in education before it was halted by a judge.
ABC15 reached out to the Scottsdale Unified School District for a statement:
“We reject the baseless accusations made during today’s press conference by State Superintendent Tom Horne. His claims of indoctrination and a so-called “leftist curriculum being imposed” on students are simply untrue and unsupported by fact.
Curriculum decisions in SUSD are made through a transparent, collaborative, and non-partisan process, guided by a curriculum adoption committee and aligned with Arizona state standards, standards for which Mr. Horne and the State Board are ultimately responsible. Our duly elected, non-partisan Governing Board, approved the social studies curriculum following months of review and community input. To single out SUSD while other districts, including Peoria Unified and charter schools like Legacy and American Leadership Academy adopted the same curriculum materials is disingenuous and politically motivated.
SUSD remains committed to providing world-class, future-focused education. Our mission is to cultivate critical thinking, not to promote any ideology.
This type of inflammatory rhetoric distracts from the real issues facing Arizona schools, most notably, the need to raise student achievement in math, science, reading, and writing. That is where our focus lies heading into the 2025-26 school year.”
Savvas Learning Company, the company that created the curriculum in question, also provided a statement:
“We uphold the strictest editorial standards and take pride in developing the highest-quality K-12 instructional materials so that all students have access to rigorous, research-based, standards-aligned curriculum. The development process for all of our instructional materials, including our social studies programs, is rigorously designed to include the input of authors who are experts in their discipline, external content-area experts, academics, teacher reviewers, and third-party fact-checkers to ensure accuracy. Great care is taken to ensure that all of our social studies programs present balanced, unbiased, accurate, and fact-based content. We are proud of our social studies curriculum and fully stand by our high-quality instructional materials that challenge, engage, and inspire students to learn.”
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
