English-learning case won by state
Associated Press
Feb. 10, 2005
Paul Davenport

A federal judge has accepted Arizona's efforts to improve training of teachers who instruct students learning English, rejecting a claim that the state didn't deliver on promised improvements.

U.S. District Judge Raner Collins ruled that the plaintiffs failed to prove that new rules on teacher qualifications adopted by the state fell short of a commitment made in a November 2000 agreement in a lawsuit on English-learning instruction.

Instead, Collins said in a ruling signed Tuesday and released by the state Wednesday, the Department of Education consulted school districts and other interested parties and "put forth a good-faith effort."

Parents of English-learning students who are plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit had asked Collins to rule that Arizona was in contempt of court for reportedly failing to abide by its 2000 promises.

In another issue in the same case, Collins two weeks ago granted a request by the parents to order the Legislature to act by the end of the current regular session to increase state funding for instruction of students learning English.