A Chronology of Tom Horne’s Educational Achievements in Substituting Structured English Immersion for Bilingual Education
In November 2020 Arizona voters passed, by a margin of almost 2-to-1, an initiative dismantling bilingual education. When Tom Horne made the decision to run for Superintendent of Schools, the incumbent had declined to enforce the initiative. He also essentially refused to enforce legislation requiring students to pass a statewide test to graduate (so the diploma would mean something to employers, and no more illiterate students would be graduated) by allowing, as a substitute “class projects”. Tom Horne would ultimately enforce both for the first time.
TOM HORNE - A CHAMPION OF ENGLISH FOR THE CHILDREN EMERGES
Finally, after months of one disappointment after another for the sponsors of the English Immersion initiative, the Arizona leadership of English for the Children found a champion for their cause in attorney and former state legislator Tom Horne. As President of the Governing Board of the very large Paradise Valley Unified School District, located in north Phoenix and north Scottsdale, Horne had been credited for having raised academic achievement, cut administrative costs, and brought discipline to that district.
CANDIDATE HORNE ENDORSED
On Tuesday, July 16, (2002) Horne received a formal endorsement from the Arizona English for the Children leaders at a press conference. Maria Mendoza stated the following:
“Although Arizona voters passed Proposition 203, dismantling bilingual education, by nearly a 2-to-1 margin in November 2000 News reports have indicated that thousands of Hispanic students still remain in bilingual education classes throughout Arizona. Most of these students have been placed in Spanish-language classes after their school districts declare them to have a good knowledge of English. Proposition 203 leaders have repeatedly declared this waiver procedure an illegal fraud and have bitterly denounced it for most of the last year. Tom Horne, a Harvard-educated attorney, and long-time school board official, has made full enforcement of Proposition 203 one of the centerpieces of his campaign against [the incumbent] in the Republican Primary.”
HORNE FORGED AHEAD
Tom Horne went from mostly unknown to a favored candidate of the Republican voters within a few months. He put two effective ads on television that stated his vision with respect to academic excellence, requiring students to pass a statewide test to graduate, and substituting structured English Immersion for the failed experiment of bilingual education.
On September 10, 2002, Horne unseated the incumbent in the Republican primary. Out of 15 Arizona counties, the incumbent carried only Santa Cruz, where the incumbent had grown up and was a High School football star.
PROMISES KEPT
On February 13, 2003, Tom Horne announced new guidelines for the implementation of what was now called Arizona English Language Immersion Laws as he spoke at highly regarded Andalucia Middle School in the Alhambra Elementary School District in west Phoenix.
Horne stated that the first waiver "has been abused by school districts qualifying students whose test scores show that they have 'limited' English language skills, as defined by the publishers of the tests." He explained that the students would be required to demonstrate "good English language skills," that is, proficiency in English, to qualify for dual-language programs. Should schools choose not to comply with the guidelines, they would face several penalties such as a loss of accreditation and funding.
According to Horne, complaints regarding the guidelines were not coming from Hispanic parents but, instead, from the Anglo ones whose children were enrolled in dual-language programs. In those programs, English proficient students were in class with students who were not English proficient, teaching was in both languages, and the students would presumably learn each other’s languages. This worked for the English-speaking kids, but the ELLs, who did not make sufficient progress learning English. "They want their kids to learn Spanish from the Latino kids. I can see their point. It is good for their children to be bilingual...but not at the expense of the Latino kids. They [Latino ELLs] need to be in an English immersion program.”
Horne clarified that he recognized the value of speaking two languages and, for that reason, had no problem with dual-language instruction - "so long as students first meet tough English fluency standards at their grade level."
OPPOSING THE FLORES CONSENT ORDER OF 2000 WHERE ENGLISH IMMERSION IS PUT TO THE LEGAL TEST
Parents of English learners in Nogales, Arizona filed the class-action lawsuit Flores v. the State of Arizona in 1992. This case would ultimately deal with the legality of English Immersion, as well as school funding. They believed their children would finally develop English proficiency if state funding were increased substantially. The judge ruled in 2000 in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered better funding combined with fines if the Order were not satisfied.
Horne’s position was that it was the business of elected leaders, not federal judges, to determine how much to spend on a program. The then-attorney general, a Democrat, did not agree, so Horne was permitted to appoint a special counsel, Rick Bistrow, to represent the Department of Education.
The state did not comply and was found in contempt, In January 2006, Bistrow, representing Horne, filed a Notice of Appeal to the Ninth Circuit. He asked the district Judge to stay his contempt order pending the outcome of the appeal (to the U.S. Supreme Court). The judge refused in March. Soon after, the Ninth Circuit granted the stay. By this time, the state had paid over $20 million of fines into a special account.
HORNE V. FLORES HEARD BEFORE U.S. SUPREME COURT
On January 9, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear separate appeals filed by Horne (now AZ Attorney General), through his attorney Eric Bistrow, and by the Arizona State Legislature, through its attorney Ken Starr. According to the appeal “Arizona needs this court's help to return control over the funding of Arizona's school programs to where it rightly belongs - out of the hands of a single federal district court judge and back into the hands of Arizona's democratically accountable officials.”
HORNE WON – U.S. SUPREME COURT REMANDED CASE BACK TO DISTRICT COURT
Arizona Republic writer Pat Kossan explained that the high court's 5-4 decision had "taken a major step towards ending a 17-year legal battle" by reversing the federal appeals court ruling that Arizona needed to improve its funding of ELL instruction. As a result, Arizona would no longer need to fear that the lower court would impose million-dollar daily fines on the state for non-compliance.
Horne’s press release stated: “The U.S. Supreme Court has taken a major step to stop federal district judges from micromanaging the state's education systems. We the people should rule ourselves through our elected representatives and should not be ruled by an aristocracy of lifetime federal judges. By its ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed this important principle.”
Plaintiff’s Attorney Tim Hogan admitted he was disappointed in the decision that reversed that of the appeals court, but added that remanding the case back to the lower court would keep the legal battle alive. He stated further, “This will give us an opportunity now to fully test the existing program that's in place for English language learners in Arizona and whether or not that program is working.”
FLORES CASE RETURNED TO DISTRICT COURT FOR THE LAST TIME AND ENGLISH IMMERSION BECOMES AN ISSUE
In fall 2010, Hogan took the case back to the U.S. District Court in Tucson. He insisted that the state's mandatory structured English immersion instructional models were not acceptable.
Hogan brought forth some “experts” to back up his objections to the ELL models. However, they were unwilling to provide data to back up their conclusions, even after the Judge required them to do so. Consequently, Tim Hogan proceeded to trial without a single one of the so-called “experts”.
Bistrow called teachers, principals, and the superintendent of the Nogales Unified School District. They praised the program of structured English immersion and denied all of Hogan's charges. They testified that the ELLs intermingled well with their English-dominant peers, that they were neither demeaned nor segregated.
FLORES CASE RESOLVED
More than two years later, on March 28, 2013, the Judge granted Horne relief and determined that the original 2000 order would no longer be enforced.
EDUCATIONAL RESULT
Under bilingual (including dual language programs) a pathetic 4% of ELLs became proficient in English in one year. At that rate, almost none would ever be proficient, and they would fail in the American economy. With Structured English Immersion, the rate increased to 29%, which meant almost would be proficient in 4 to 5 years. That is the meaning of the word “vindication”.