[8] The TUSD board meetings, in response to the proposed bill HB2281, resulted in several students and faculty who demonstrated against the legislation being arrested and/or injured.

[12][13] The Daily Show aired a satirical piece on April 2, 2012, concerning the banning of Mexican-American studies as voted by the school board.

Michael Hicks, a voting member, said that he was concerned with the "revolutionary" aspect of the curriculum that encouraged students to take part in "bloodshed" against the "gringos."

"[15] Some students and their parents sued the school board and government, claiming that the TUSD ban of the Mexican American studies program violated their rights under the First and 14th amendments.

CV-74-0204-TUC-DCB (Consolidated Case) In May 2017 the long-rumored "black list" of employees blocked from future hire was discovered, first created in August 2012.

[20] Despite the TUSD's stated hiring policies, in January 2018, it was discovered that the list spanned 20 years and 1,400 entries, with about 900 of those former employees claiming that they were blacklisted wrongfully and without notice, for unfirable items such as "personality clashes" with superiors, poor evaluation scores, or using all their vacation time.

[23] In 2008, the TUSD School board approved to revoke the mandate that required the two years of foreign language education for each graduating student, citing budget cuts as the overarching problem.

[23][24] The prominent Tucson newspaper, the Arizona Daily Star, later printed an editorial addressing the new requirement, agreeing that they would rather see the budget cuts being made in the language department than in others, and stating that TUSD and the School Board did the reasonable thing under the situation.

[127] The Tucson Unified School District has a number of policies that encourage a healthy lifestyle for its students and employees.

[128] Advertisements, such as those on the front of vending machines, must encourage students to purchase healthier options, like water; and other a la carte foods that do not meet health regulations can be offered on only an “infrequent basis.

"[128] The TUSD addresses other challenges by recognizing that students will make health decisions based largely on the influence of their role models, like their parents/guardians and teachers.

[128] Newsletters published by the district also contain lists of foods that meet health regulations and would be popular for celebrations, such as birthday parties.

For example, Sam Hughes Elementary School has a community garden and offers culinary classes to its students as part of Michelle Obama's Let's Move!