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A screenshot of a tweet from Corey DeAngelis, with libertarian think tank Reason Foundation, shows a pictureof a marked-up dry-erase board. A diagonal line links the word "Republicans" with "fascism" and "nationalism." Underneath nationalism, is the word "genocide," among others.(Photo: via Twitter)

What began as a lesson on World War II at a Chandler high school hasturned into a viral social media photo that's attracted condemnation and even attention from Donald Trump Jr.

Corey DeAngelis, with libertarian think tank Reason Foundation, tweeted a pictureof a marked-up dry-erase board: A diagonal line links the word "Republicans" with "fascism" and"nationalism." Underneath nationalism, is the word "genocide," among others.

Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, retweeted the photo to his 4 million followers.

DeAngeliswrote that the photo was from a world history classatCasteel High School in the Chandler Unified District. District spokesman Terry Locke later confirmed the source of the photo to The Arizona Republic.

In an email DeAngelis posted and claimed was from the parent who sent him the photo, the parent wrote that the teacher compared Hitler to the modern-day Republican party.

Locke wrote that the district investigated the allegations and determined they were false after interviewing the teacher and several students in the class.

"Responding to a student question about fascism, the teacher made it clear she was talking about the rise of communism and fascism during World War II," Locke wrote. "The concern takes this discussion out of context."

Locke did not identify the teacher because, he said, she has received threats of physical harm.

Locke wrote that the World War II lesson "later went on to describe current-day politics with the teacher documenting student input on a white board."

"The teacherencouraged her students to take a neutral, third-party quiz to help them investigate where they land on the political spectrum," he wrote.

DeAngelis' tweet provoked a range of responses, some calling for the district to fire the teacher.

Political discussions have increasingly become taboo in Arizona classrooms. During the 2019 legislative session, Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, introduced legislation that would have devised a code of ethics for educators, including forbidding the spread of political and religiousmessages in public district and charter schools.

The ethics code would have explicitly bannedteachers from endorsing political candidates, legislation or judicial action in the classroom.

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The bill did not make it to a vote. Democrats accused Finchem and other Republicans introducing similar legislation of retaliating a year after the #RedForEd movement.

State statute already forbidsthe use of school or district resources to influence elections. Two teachers were fined and disciplined under the statute in 2018.

Reach the reporter at Lily.Altavena@ArizonaRepublic.com or follow her on Twitter @LilyAlta.

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Chandler teacher's lesson on fascism in WW II blasted on Twitter - AZCentral