Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has ratcheted up his attack on Arizona’s dual language programs.
Horne, a staunch proponent of English language immersion instruction, is warning schools they risk losing education funding if they allow students not yet proficient in English to participate in 50-50 dual language programs where half the day is taught in English and half the day is taught in Spanish or some other language.
In a memo issued on June 19, Horne maintains that dual language programs that include students not proficient in English violate Proposition 203. The ballot measure passed by voters in 2000 requires students classified as English learners to be taught only in English.
The number of dual language programs in Arizona has increased in recent years because the Legislature in 2019 unanimously decided to give schools more flexibility to teach English learners.
The legislation was approved after data showed English learners were not adequately learning English and were falling behind academically under the existing administration of Proposition 203.
As a result of the 2019 law, the State Board of Education created four models for instructing English learners. Three of the models are based on structured English language instruction, which Horne has no problem with. They require English learners to receive at least two hours of structured English language instruction a day, down from four hours previously.
The fourth model allows schools to teach English learners in 50-50 dual language immersion programs. English learners enrolled in dual language programs spend half the day learning in English, which Horne says is OK. But they also spend half the day learning in Spanish or another language. Horne says that violates the law.
More than 900 English learner students were enrolled in dual language programs in the 2021-22 school year, according to Arizona Department of Education data. Data for the 2022-23 school year has not yet been released. Still, the number of students in dual language programs likely increased because more schools are adding dual language programs or expanding the ones they already have in the wake of the 2019 legislation.
Horne releases legal memo, threatens funding
As legal ammunition for his argument, Horne cites a May 31 memo from the Arizona Legislative Council, the legal arm of the Arizona State Legislature, to state Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli, R-Lake Havasu City. The memo concludes that the 50-50 dual language model “likely violates” Proposition 203 if it allows students classified as English learners to be taught in a language other than English.
Horne makes an exception for English learners granted parental waivers after demonstrating they already have good English speaking skills, are 10 or older, or have special needs.
“Any district or school that continues placing English language learners into dual language classes, without the requisite parental waivers, should be aware of the legal consequences,” Horne states in the June 19 memo.
The possible consequences include the loss of English language learner funds administered by the state and lawsuits from parents, the memo states.
“I want to emphasize that these rules only apply to students who have not yet attained proficiency in English. Once they attain English proficiency, we encourage dual language, or any other programs, that will cause them to be proficient in more than one language,” the memo adds.
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The Arizona Department of Education has the authority to exclude English learners without parental waivers from participating in 50-50 dual language programs, said Sean Ross, executive director of the Arizona Board of Education, which created the four English learner models. As the state’s schools chief, Horne oversees the state’s education department.
“If ADE were eliminating the 50/50 option, they would be required to come before the State Board to have the new models approved,” Ross said in an email. “However, the use of a waiver to use the model is an administrative decision, which falls under the purview of ADE and does not require State Board approval.”
The new memo puts into writing statements Horne has made publicly since he became superintendent of public instruction in January, a job Horne also held from 2003 to 2011.
Horne considers dual language programs a form of bilingual education, which he says prevents English learners from adequately learning English, and which Proposition 203 was intended to stomp out in Arizona.
Horne’s memo drew condemnation from proponents of dual language programs, which they say help English learners acquire English without falling behind academically and help them maintain their first language.
“When Tom Horne goes on the attack against public schools and educators in order to advance his own political agenda, it’s Arizona’s students who suffer most. It’s a pattern we’ve seen play out again and again and again,” said Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association.
“The research is clear — all students, especially English learners, benefit academically from bilingual education. And bilingual programs aren’t just backed by research — they’re beloved by students, families and educators alike,” Garcia said in a written statement.
Garcia noted that the Legislature voted unanimously to give school districts more flexibility to instruct English learners.
“To see Tom Horne attempting to tear down these programs more or less unilaterally, just to serve his own political ends, is beyond frustrating,” Garcia said.
Arizona Department of Education to require parental waivers
During the 2021-22 school year, 941 students classified as English learners participated in a 50-50 dual language immersion program at more than 100 schools in 20 school districts, according to Arizona Department of Education data.
It’s unknown if some English learners who participated in these programs in the past had parental waivers because it was not yet a requirement, said Adela Santa Cruz, Horne’s deputy associate superintendent who oversees English language acquisition programs. But in the 2023-24 school year, which begins in July for some districts, all English learners will be required to have parental waivers to participate in the programs, she said.
Many dual language programs also include students fluent in English whose parents want them to learn Spanish or another second language. But the department does not track the number of non-English learners participating in the programs, Santa Cruz said.
Removing English learners from dual language programs would weaken the programs, advocates say, because students who are fluent in English benefit from learning alongside students whose first language is Spanish or some other language, and vice versa.
Earlier this year, Santa Cruz said publicly that the Department of Education had consulted with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office to determine if the 50-50 dual language model violates Proposition 203.
The Arizona Department of Education has not received a response, said Doug Nick, a department spokesperson.
“The Arizona Department of Education has regular conversations with its agency counsel from the Attorney General’s Office,” Nick said in an email. “Earlier this year, we requested an informal opinion regarding the English language learner law. We have been told several times that it would be sent, but we have yet to receive the final product we requested.”
However, Richie Taylor, a spokesperson for Attorney General Kris Mayes, said the Attorney General’s Office had received no such request.
“We have not received any requests for an official Attorney General Opinion on this topic,” Taylor said. “Because the Attorney General’s Office represents state agencies, including ADE, I am unable to comment further due to attorney-client privilege.”
Daniel Gonzalez covers race, equity and opportunity. Reach him at daniel.gonzalez@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8312. Follow him on Twitter @azdangonzalez.