A that Arizona鈥檚 ban on ethnic studies courses was motivated by racial discrimination.
The state violated students鈥� constitutional rights 鈥渂ecause both enactment and enforcement were motivated by racial animus,鈥� Judge A. Wallace Tashima wrote in a ruling issued Tuesday.
Supporters of the program have argued that the 2010 state law, which in part banned courses designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group, targeted Mexican Americans and other minority groups.
The school district in Tucson dropped its Mexican-American studies program after state officials threatened to cut their state funding. Tashima鈥檚 decision came in response to a lawsuit that students filed against the state.
However, Tashima hasn鈥檛 yet settled on a remedy for the violation and has not issued a final judgment. Attorneys for the students hope he will throw out the law.
Back in 2013, in a civil lawsuit filed by students in the school system. But a federal appeals court sent the case back to trial to determine if the ban was enacted with racist intent.
The . Tashima, a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco, heard the case by special designation as a district court judge in Arizona
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Photo: Ross D. Franklin/AP-File
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