10 Feb 15th–Feb 21st, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Education Department vets materials — just not these Horne defended PragerU’s videos during the press conference on Jan. 31. “Prager materials are rich in content and have a commitment to presenting facts to students to better understand American history,” Horne said. “Now, unlike some people, I think it’s unprofessional conduct for a teacher to use a captive audience to push their own ideology,” Horne added, blissfully unaware of the irony. “The thing about the Prager materials is that they’re objective, which is what our teachers should be doing.” New Times asked Horne how many videos he had watched. “I don’t know the answer,” he said. Horne also said the department did not review PragerU materials. “We do vet everything we put on our portal,” Horne said. But he then contra- dicted himself by noting the department did not vet PragerU content “because they’re already well-known, and we knew what they stood for.” Baker said that school curriculum at the local level goes through a much more rigorous process for approval. “He (Horne) is just putting this on his website for teachers to use without going through any sort of process or policy,” Baker said. Horne wants ‘a round of headlines’ Critics of Horne said he is using his position to further his right-wing views and agenda, as well as raise his profile in conservative political circles. Sarah James is a governing board member of Tempe Union High School District. She’s concerned that PragerU labels itself as “conservative.” “From the way that people like Tom Horne talk and say they want politics out of education, it’s literally inserting politics into education,” James said. “I wouldn’t be okay with someone saying, ‘Hey, this is super-liberal curriculum.’ We need to look at accurate curriculum that has been vetted by professionals so that we know it’s the best thing our students are getting and that it has the best outcomes for our students.” Garcia said the Horne’s partnership will generate a round of headlines for the school superintendent. “There’s a reason Superintendent Horne has been called the worst school official in America. He’s always looking for ways to use Arizona’s public schools to push a far-right political agenda,” Garcia said. “Superintendent Horne’s announce- ment won’t change much for Arizona’s students and teachers. But it will generate a round of headlines for him — which was, of course, the entire point.” James agreed. “This is just a political move,” she said. Baker said Horne’s politically motivated leadership is “unfortunate.” “It’s a divisive way to lead as superin- tendent of all of our public schools. He wants his certain political agenda taught in these schools, and that’s not where it belongs,” she said. In November, New Times reported that Horne misrepresented a student-organized presentation about the Gaza humanitarian crisis in a callous move that used high schoolers as pawns. Sources said his claims caused student organizers to be bullied. PragerU’s controversial founder PragerU was founded in 2009 by screen- writer Allen Estrin and conservative talk show host Dennis Prager, known primarily for his anti-LGBTQ views. “The acceptance of homosexuality as the equal of heterosexual marital love signifies the decline of Western civiliza- tion,” Prager told Congress in 1994. He was also removed from the board of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2006 for writing, “Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don’t serve in Congress.” The company infuses its materials with “Judeo-Christian values,” according to its 2023 annual report. “We educate everyone about the impor- tance of Judeo-Christian values in their own lives, and to the future of Western Civilization,” according to the report. Dumbed Down from p 8 Arizona Sens. Anthony Kern (left) and Jake Hoffman were among right-wing elected officials who attended the press conference on Jan. 31. (Photo by TJ L’Heureux)
