Flores v. Horne, No. 06-15378 (9th Cir. Aug. 23, 2006)
In a short unpublished and unsigned memorandum opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has vacated, on procedural grounds, an Arizona federal district court’s decision that the Arizona legislature’s plan for funding English language learner (ELL) fails to comply with the district court’s original 2000 order. The Ninth Circuit also vacated the lower court’s imposition of fines for noncompliance and its order that the fines collected be distributed to school districts to fund ELL programs. In addition, the appellate court dissolved the lower court’s injunction that prohibited the state from requiring ELL students to pass Arizona’s Test to Measure Standards (AIMS) in order to graduate from high school. The court cited its prior holding in Clark v. Coye, 60 F.3d 600, 604 (9th Cir. 1995) that "the scope of federal relief against an agency of state government must always be narrowly tailored to enforce federal constitutional and statutory law only. . . . federal courts must be sensitive to the need for modification [of permanent injunctive relief] when circumstances change." In light of changes in ELL programs and funding since issuance of the original district court order, the Ninth Circuit concluded that "the district court should have held an evidentiary hearing and made findings of fact regarding whether changed circumstances required modification of the original court order or otherwise had a bearing on the appropriate remedy." The appeals court remanded the case to the district court for this purpose.
Flores v. Horne, No. 06-15378 (9th Cir. Aug. 23, 2006)
[Link to full opinion]
[Editor’s Note: Background on the Arizona fight over ELL funding is available starting at the first link below. The latest round involves the state legislature’s efforts to obtain judicial approval of its funding proposal. After the district court rejected a plan that would have provided $358 per student, the legislature passed a bill that provided $432 per student. The governor allowed this bill to go into law without her signature despite her objections. But the court rejected the plan as "arbitrary and capricious" because the funding amount, although higher, still was not based on any calculation of actual costs and in fact was $18 per pupil less than what even a 1988 study had suggested was needed. The court had imposed fines on the state for each day there was no funding plan in place. Those fines eventually added up to $21 million, which the court directed be given to local school districts to help pay for ELL programs. The court also enjoined the state from requiring ELL students to pass the AIMS test in order to graduate. The Arizona Republic reports below that the fines are to be returned to the state general fund and that the latest law, except the spending increase from $358 to $432, will go into effect in September. If the judge approves the law after a new hearing, the funding will increase to $432. English learners must pass AIMS to graduate.]
[NSBA School Law pages on Arizona ELL litigation]
Arizona Republic
By Chip Scutari
[Link to full article]