This can't be good for Arizona ELL

by David Safier

The Arizona fight over ELL funding is going all the way to the Supremes.

The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to step into a long-running lawsuit in Arizona over funding for services to English-language learners.

The justices accepted appeals from legislative leaders and the state schools superintendent of lower-court rulings that Arizona was not adequately funding ELL programs under federal law. A federal judge has ordered the state legislature to increase funding for such programs or else face fines of as much as $2 million per day.

To refresh your memory, in 1992 a suit was brought against the state for underfunding ELL education. In 2000, then in 2007, the courts agreed, saying the state must put more funds into its ELL programs. Our Ed Supe Tom Horne was unhappy with the decisions -- very, very unhappy -- and appealed the case to the Supreme Court. Atty Gen Terry Goddard urged the Supremes not to review the case. But today they said they will.

An interesting sidelight: Horne's appeal request was written in part by Ken Starr, the independent counsel who brought us Monica Lewinsky -- and charges over $900 an hour. Now that's what I call spending taxpayer money wisely!

This isn't good for our ELL kids. If the Supreme Court hadn't accepted the appeal, Horne and the legislature would have to find more money for ELL. The right-leaning court wouldn't have taken the case if there wasn't the possibility of overturning the earlier decision.

 The Justices are supposed to hear the case sometime in April and we'll probably know their decision in late June.