Remember the fines imposed on AZ for not meeting the deadline to fund ELL programs? Fines amounting to $21 Million were wiped clean by a federal appeals court according to the AZ Republic - reported by Chip Scutari.The fate of 160,000 students struggling to learn English are at risk because of a ruling that English-learner students must pass the AIMS test in order to graduate high school.The $21 M goes back into the general fund and a new evedentiary hearing must be scheduled for a ruling. It started in 1992 with a lawsuit filed by a Nogales family, Flores vs. Arizona, in 2000 - then federal Judge Alfredo Marquez found the level of funding for ELL was not adequate. Since then the Legislature nearly tripled revenue for ELL above the funding formula. Tom Horne, Superintendent for Public Instruction says the Nogales Unified School District has improved; all 10 schools are performing under the AZ learns grading system.Year 2000, Proposition 301 was approved - sales-tax increases set aside $660 M a year to fund teacher salaries and increases, smaller classrooms, extra school days, and school repairs. A program called ‘Students First’ put more than $1 billion into fixing old schools and building new ones.Year 2000 also brought Prop 203 - voters approved a restriction on bilingual education and required public schools to help students by immersion.HB Bill 2064 passed earlier this year was rejected by Judge Raner Collins, who initially ruled in January 2005, the Legislature fix the problem. A bill vetoed in May 2005, a fine imposed, an unsigned bill went into effect, and from there it’s been what seems to be a tug-of-war.In the meantime ELL children receive $358 per student, more than the original $155 per student, and must pass the AIMS test to get a diploma.I know nothing is simple when it comes to legislation, its far-reaching effects, the consideration of programs and their impact on education. It seems though, that all involved could come to a sensible resolution and begin by looking through the eyes of the student. The one struggling to understand, to grow intellectually, to become a well informed contributor in our society. Sometimes it is the child who speaks the loudest and brings us profound understanding.
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