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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne doesn鈥檛 have the power to punish schools for using dual language instructional models, according to Attorney General Kris Mayes.

But this won鈥檛 be the end of the matter, as Horne is preparing to sue schools teaching students in two languages.

Last month, Horne, a Republican and long-time foe of bilingual education, from schools using the 50-50 dual language model. The model is one of four instructional strategies approved by the Arizona State Board of Education in 2020 to teach students not yet proficient in English. Under it, students are taught in English for half of the school day and in their native language for the other half.

As many as across the state, including , employ the 50-50 model and were poised to lose critical funds if they didn鈥檛 retire the teaching method. With the start of classes just weeks away, school officials and public education advocates over the uncertainty sowed by Horne鈥檚 statements.

But on Monday, Mayes dismissed the threat to schools, saying Horne doesn鈥檛 have the legal authority to withhold state dollars or make any decisions about the model鈥檚 validity.

鈥淭he Superintendent鈥檚 and the (Arizona Department of Education鈥檚) role鈥�is limited to monitoring and referring school districts and charter schools to the Board,鈥� Mayes in a formal opinion issued in response to a request from Democratic legislators.

Mayes, a Democrat who was elected in 2022, concluded that Horne is responsible for overseeing and reporting on the implementation of English learner programs in Arizona, but no state law gives him the authority to take action against schools or decide the fate of certain programs.

The most a state superintendent can do, under , is compile reports on noncompliant schools and refer them to the State Board of Education. Only the State Board of Education has the power to modify or invalidate a teaching method. And until the board decides to eliminate the dual language model, Mayes said, it remains an option for schools seeking a way to teach their English language learner students.

At the heart of Horne鈥檚 criticism of dual language programs is that they violate the English-only standard set up in Proposition 203, a law overwhelmingly passed by Arizona voters in 2000. It prohibits teaching English learners in any language other than English until they鈥檝e achieved proficiency. The only exception is for students whose parents fill out a yearly waiver allowing them to be taught in a bilingual program.

But four years ago, state lawmakers, alarmed over the dismal academic outlook of English learners, that gave the State Board of Education permission to branch out into new, research-backed teaching models. One of those was the dual language model that鈥檚 increasingly popular today.

Mayes points to the laws which govern English language learner programs as evidence that only the State Board of Education has the power, given by the legislature, to do away with a teaching model.

鈥淭he Board has sole statutory authority to delete or modify an SEI (Structured English Immersion) model,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淣either the Department nor the Superintendent has statutory authority to reject an SEI model approved by the Board or to declare its illegality. Nor does the Superintendent or the Department have authority to withhold monies from school districts or otherwise impose consequences on schools for utilizing the Dual Language Model.鈥�

Mayes declined, however, to rule on the question of whether a conflict exists with the provisions of Prop. 203, writing that such a 鈥渇act-dependent analysis鈥� is outside the scope of interpreting Arizona law in a formal opinion.

鈥淭his Office declines to attempt such a fact-dependent analysis in the context of an official request for an Opinion, which does not involve public hearings or other taking of evidence,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淭he Board has approved the Dual Language Model as a model of SEI instruction, and school districts and charter schools remain entitled to rely on that approval.鈥�

Doug Nick, a spokesman for the Department of Education, which Horne leads, said the next step is likely to take place in court.

鈥淲e are in the process of reviewing the opinion and we expect to deliver a court challenge,鈥� he told the Mirror.

Shortly after Mayes issued her opinion, the State Board of Education affirmed that it would neither modify the teaching models currently in use across the state nor punish schools for implementing the 50/50 dual language method. Making any changes to currently approved teaching models or even eliminating them requires a majority vote of the board鈥檚 11 members, which includes Horne.

鈥淭he Board will not be taking action to change the approved models,鈥� Executive Director Sean Ross said in an emailed statement. 鈥淭he Board will also not take action against schools for using the approved models.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: info@azmirror.com. Follow Arizona Mirror on and .

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