The Maricopa Superior Court dismissed a challenge to a school district’s dual language program, citing lack of standing.
The plaintiff, Patricia Pellett, is a Scottsdale Unified School District parent, and not part of the district she challenged, Creighton Elementary School District (CESD). Arizona Department of Education (ADE) Superintendent Tom Horne’s wife, Carmen Chenal Horne, represented Pellett in the case.
Back in August, Horne said that it was irrelevant that Pellett didn’t have a child in CESD schools.
“Under a provision in the initiative that said that a student of any parent in the state could bring an action against any school district in the state that violates this initiative,” said Horne.
The challenge to CESD arose from Horne’s crusade against dual language programs. Horne’s aim is to have all schools teach only through immersion programs. Dual language models teach students subjects in languages other than English for part of their education, whereas immersion has students taught their subject matter entirely in English.
State law enacted through a voter initiative (Proposition 203 passed in 2000) requires that public schools teach the English language through English-spoken courses and English language classrooms, unless parents are eligible to provide prior written informed consent for bilingual education techniques or those educational methodologies permitted by law.
“[A]ll children in Arizona public schools shall be taught English by being taught in English and all children shall be placed in English language classrooms,” states the law.
Eligible circumstances include parents with children who already know English, older children, and children with special needs.
The Arizona State Board of Education has determined that parental waivers for immersion aren’t required, a finding affirmed by Attorney General Kris Mayes last year. Mayes published that opinion in response to a request on legal clarity from state representatives as to whether the language models used by seven school districts — Glendale Elementary, Kyrene Elementary, Phoenix Elementary, Mesa Public Schools, Laveen Elementary, Creighton Elementary, and Mexicayotl Academy — warranted corrective action by ADE.
Horne dismissed Mayes’ opinion as “ideologically driven” and not based in law.
Horne turned to Pellett to challenge schools’ dual language programs after Maricopa County Superior Court ordered Horne to pay over $120,000 in legal fees earlier this year.
The judge, Katherine Cooper, ruled that state law didn’t authorize Horne to ask the courts to rule on school district compliance with Proposition 203. Cooper ruled that only the State Board of Education possessed authority over dual language programs, citing the board’s responsibility for developing and approving immersion models. Cooper further declared that Horne had no justiciable claim, either, and ruled that parents and guardians had the power to file lawsuits to enforce the proposition.
“The school districts, like all public and charter schools, are required to follow a model as approved by the State Board,” ruled Cooper.
Horne’s response was to accuse the ruling as avoidant of the merits of the case. He reiterated that the voter-approved initiative (Proposition 203) required children to be taught in English.
With Horne’s continued challenges to the existence of dual language programs and advocacy for immersion programs, the Arizona School Boards Association says it will advocate for greater reliance on 50-50 models.
I agree! That's why I learned other languages, but I learned English first since that is the language needed to join our society and our economy. We need to follow the law, and if parents want to sign a waiver for dual language, they can. I support parents knowing what is best! https://t.co/7g9znMlai0
A Phoenix public school district has come under fire after the Goldwater Institute revealed it’s Governing Board and Administrative Team were treated to a three-day $4,000 per person “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) conference at a Napa Valley wine country resort. The conference was hosted by the California Association of Black School Educators.
According to the report released by the Goldwater Institute, the “4th Annual California Association of Black School Educators (CABSE) Institute,” was held at the posh Meritage Resort and Spa, where off-season rooms run about $400 per night between July 14 – 17. The Creighton Elementary School District Governing Board and Administrative Team reportedly enjoyed the offerings of the conference, which included, “a five-hour ‘Chairman’s Soiree’ at a local winery, where participants were bussed in to enjoy wine and haute cuisine.” According to a post on LinkedIn, registration for education leaders was $850 per person.
Taxpayer-funded wine tastings? School leaders splurge on glitzy DEI conference: https://t.co/M1o1FGTClt
The theme of the conference, “Black to Basics, Root Causes, Interventions” is an overtly race-driven plan to “foster collaborative action among California education professionals committed to advancing equity for Black students.”
The agenda for the convention was conspicuously absent from the CABSE website, however, based upon the 2023 offerings we can glean an understanding of the likely content.
In 2023, the conference offered:
“A Whole Village Approach to Equity,”
“Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning,” and
“Equity in Mental Health.”
Images posted to X by the ‘UCLA Center for the Transformation of School’ taken at the conference showed presentations from CTS Project Director Dr. Stanley L. Johnson, Jr. entitled “What Are Your Basics For Black Students?” and “The Machinery of Improvement: Practices, Policies, and Advocacy”
Creighton Elementary School District Governing Board documentation located by AZ Free News confirmed that the Governing Board officially approved the trip during its April 16 Regular Board meeting. The document noted:
“Governing Board members and staff from the superintendent’s office are requesting permission to attend the 4th Annual California Association of Black School Educators (CABSE) Institute to be held in Napa, California, July 14-17, 2024, at a cost of approximately $3,800-4,000 per person. The CABSE Institute Is a three-day convening designed to foster collaborative action among education professionals committed to advancing equity for Black students. This conference is a unique gathering of board members, district superintendents, administration officials, teachers, leaders, and decision makers from across the nation. “
At the same meeting, the district’s personnel action report revealed that over fifty educators resigned effective May 24 with the vast majority described as for “personal” reasons.
During the August 6th Governing Board Meeting, Board Member Katie Gipson McLean reported on the conference, saying it was, “a cool, fun conference to go to,” and adding that “they’re encouraging people to be candid and open and honest and have these larger conversations among the group about issues that are impacting specifically black and brown youth.”
Board President Sophia Carrillo summarized the conference stating, “Their theme was ‘Black to Basics’ and it was just awesome to know that we were in a conference where that it was aligned with our goals. Right? One of our goals is our zero percent black students in grade will pass the math standardized test. And to be in a room full of doctors, educator professionals, Superintendents, school board members from California knowing that this is an issue that’s happening statewide. And they also are having these conversations in their local governing board meetings and making sure that our students that are, you know, that are most vulnerable are getting the attention and the resources that they need was just awesome. A lot of good networking from there to hopefully bring into the school district as well.”
The Goldwater Institute wrote “Plenty of unanswered questions about this year’s event remain. In a three-day conference, why was only 9.25 hours committed to substantive conference content (the sessions where one would qualify for continuing education credit), compared to 22.25 hours spent on ‘networking’ events like the winery soiree.
Why are officials from a Phoenix school district attending a California state education DEI conference with a clear California focus? And why is the district—in which 80% of students fail to meet proficiency levels in reading (across all races combined)—narrowly focusing resources toward a single racial demographic to the exclusion of others, while apparently deprioritizing the 80% of students who are Hispanic or Asian, for instance?”
The institute added, “The district should also produce a detailed conference agenda, a list of all persons attending the conference (the entire governing board and the superintendent’s cabinet were approved to attend), and receipts for all relevant travel expenses, in addition to divulging whether any attendees brought guests to enjoy this taxpayer-funded vacation.”
