By now, you’ve all heard of Flores v. Arizona, which is currently being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. It is a lawsuit brought in 1992 by the parents of Spanish-speaking children in Nogales, AZ, alleging that their civil rights were violated because the state wasn’t providing adequate education for their language difficulties (note – this lawsuit has been a sore spot because no doubt a large percentage of these students are illegal immigrants or the children of illegal immigrants, and funding illegal immigrants has contributed to the state’s economic crisis). The lawsuit was filed against the state – namely the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who was represented by the Attorney General’s Office.

In 2000, federal district court judge Alfredo Marquez, known for being an activist left wing judge, ruled that there was not enough funding. Instead of appealing the decision, the state worked out terms of a consent decree with the plaintiffs that required ALL of Arizona’s – not just Nogales where there are a higher level of Spanish-speakers – to implement a high level of school programs (requiring a higher level of funding) for Spanish-speaking students. The AZ Department of Education produced a cost analysis shortly afterwards predicting the cost of these programs would cost up to $4,600 per ELL student.

Since then, the state legislature has tried repeatedly to increase funding for ELL. Unfortunately, Judge Marquez continues to rule that the additional funding isn’t enough. We wonder how much Arizona has spent on this issue since the lawsuit was originally initiated in 1992. Washington Legal Foundation characterizes it as one federal district court judge usurping the role of the legislature and running Arizona’s school policy for years. The law doesn’t define what “appropriate” education means, Marquez should be deciding cases based on what the law says, not how he decides to define it. Currently, Arizona spends $430 extra per year on each ELL student – still not enough for Judge Marquez, who has threatened to put legislative leaders in jail! Judge Raner Collins has since taken over the case, following in the footsteps of Judge Marquez against the state.

Clearly, Napolitano did a poor job representing the state as Attorney General in this lawsuit. The onerous terms of the consent decree, which then-Superintendent of Schools Lisa Graham Keegan signed on behalf of the state in 2000, should have NEVER forced these excessive requirements on other cities and towns around Arizona. The decision should have been appealed in 2000. Thanks, Napolitano, during these times of economic crisis, your legacy lives on.