For the second time, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has permitted a bill to become law without her signature addressing a federal court mandate to provide adequate funding for English-language learners in that state, according to an April 15 article in the Arizona Republic.
The first time that she let this happen, she contended the legislation wouldn’t pass muster with the court. And she was right. This time, she also expressed her view that the matter of funding for ELLs hasn’t been resolved with the new piece of legislation.
We’ll see what happens in the courts with this new law, which increases funding for ELLs in the state by $40.6 million. See an earlier post, “Arizona House Passes New ELL Bill.”
Update: Check out the Arizona Republic‘s April 18 article, “Appeals Court rules English-learner program deficient.” The article is reporting that the appeals court is standing by the decision made Feb. 22 by a panel of three judges. Read my earlier post, “March 4 Deadline on ELLs Looms Over Arizona Legislature.”