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Flores V. Arizona Was Filed
Parents of children enrolled in Nogales, Arizona schools, namely Mirium Flores, filed a claim with the U.S District Court for the District of Arizona accusing the state of inadequitely providing for the needs of ELL students in the district. -
Costing-Out Study
The court ordered a costing-out study to determine what level of state funding for ELL programs was necessary. -
Initial Ruling
The court ordered additional state funding of ELL programs. -
Reluctance
Failure on the part of the state to comply with the ruling of additional funding led to daily fines that mounted to $21 million before the state finally enacted the additional funding in 2006. -
The District Court Makes a Decision
In 2007, the U.S District Court for the District of Arizona ruled that Arizona is still illegally under-funding ELL
programs. It was determined that the current formula to determine costs was significantly less than what was
recommended by the cost study in 2005. The court ruled that the insufficient funding violated the federal law that
every student, regardless of native language, should have the opportunity for “equal participation” in public
education. -
The Appeals Court Decision
the Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court judgement, stating that while the State sought to gradually improve student performance, the Equal Educational Opportunities act was concerned with the current rights of individual students, and it was not unfair to continue to require compliance with the district court order. -
The State Appeals
The State appealed the District Court ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. -
More Hurdles
The defendants petitioned the U.S Supreme Court to review the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the state was not meeting legal obligation to its ELLs. -
Still Fighting
The U.S Supreme Court sent back for further hearings on a funding case that has been pending in the federal courts for the past nine years.
Miriam Flores, daughter of the mother who initially filed the claim against the State, faught hard against her struggles in school and is now attending college at the U of A.
