Flores v. Arizona

480 F. Supp. 2d 1157, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20716, 2007 WL 896267
CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedMarch 22, 2007
DocketCIV 92-596-TUC-RCC
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 480 F. Supp. 2d 1157 (Flores v. Arizona) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Flores v. Arizona, 480 F. Supp. 2d 1157, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20716, 2007 WL 896267 (D. Ariz. 2007).

Opinion

ORDER

COLLINS, District Judge.

On March 3, 2006, the Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives and the President of the Arizona Senate requested Leave to Report to the Court the Adoption of House Bill 2064 (“HB 2064”) (Docket No. 373) and Defendant State of Arizona filed a Motion to Expedite Consideration of State’s Motion for Accelerated Consideration of Legislation (Docket Nos. 374- *1159 375). On March 8, 2006, the Court held a telephonic status hearing and requested the parties to brief the Court on HB 2064 to determine if HB 2064 satisfied both the December 2005 Court Order and the January 2000 Judgment in this matter.

On April 3, 2006, a hearing was held and the Court took the case under advisement. The Court considered the following memorandum and supporting documents: Defendant Thomas Home’s Memorandum in Support of the Act (Docket No. 414); Defendant State of Arizona’s Opening Brief (Docket No. 415); Plaintiff Miriam Flores’ Brief Regarding Sufficiency of House Bill 2064 (Docket No. 419); Amicus Arizona School Boards Association’s Brief Amicus Curiae Brief (Docket No. 425); Amicus House and Senate Democratic Caucuses of the Arizona Legislature’s Brief (Docket No. 427); Plaintiff Miriam Flores’ Brief (Docket No. 428); and Intervenor Parties Speaker of the House/President of the Senate’s Brief Replying to Opening Briefs of Plaintiffs and Attorney General (Docket Nos. 422 and 434). As a result, this Court held that HB 2064 did not satisfy the January 2000 Order and Judgment (“January 2000 Order”) or the December 2005 Order and denied the Intervenor’s Motion to Purge Contempt, Dissolve Injunctions, Declare Orders Satisfied, and Set Aside Injunctions.

On April 25, 2006, the Court entered an order holding that HB 2064 did not bear a rational relationship to the cost of providing ELL Programs, as required by this Court’s January 2000 Order. The Court’s April 2006 Order (Docket No. 448) was based on the following identified problems with the new law:

1. The Act does not comply with the Court’s original Judgments and Orders.
2. On its face, the Act does not appropriately fund the ELL program.
3. The Act fails to delineate the cost of providing a viable ELL program.
4. The Act does not explain the basis for the $77 increase for Group B weight students or how the $432 appropriation is rationally related to the ELL program.
5. The $432 appropriation is more than current funding, however it is less than the amount that was discredited in a “cost study” that was done more than eighteen years ago, and less than the amount that was determined by the now “discredited cost study” held two years ago.
6. Based on the Act, there is no way to determine if the models are indeed standards for school districts and charter schools to follow.
7. The two-year limitation is a violation of federal law. And,
8. The offsets of federal funds such as Title I, IIA, III, Impact aid and desegregation monies also violate federal law.

On July 31, 2006, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed this Court’s Orders holding the Moving Defendant’s in contempt and rejecting House Bill 2064 (“H.B.2064”) and remanded to the District Court with instructions to hold an eviden-tiary hearing and make findings of fact regarding whether “changed circumstances” required modification of the original court order pursuant to Rule 60(b)(5). The Court held an eight day evidentiary hearing, beginning on January 9, 2007. The parties presented live testimony and stipulated to admit into evidence most exhibits. The trial addressed only one specific issue. The following issue was tried: whether funding and programmatic changes that have occurred since the January 2000 Order in this case warrant a modification of that judgment or otherwise bear on the appropriate remedy in this *1160 case. The Court has considered all the testimony and exhibits, the briefs filed before and after the hearing as well as the findings of fact and conclusions of law by all parties.

This Court’s Order will be as brief as possible as the Court promised the parties a speedy ruling so that the State Legislators could take action before its scheduled adjournment if needed. It is the contention of the Superintendent and the Legislative Intervenors that the Court’s January 2000 Order has been satisfied. Specifically, the moving Defendants state that “changed circumstances” in the Nogales Unified School District (“NUSD”) has satisfied the original January 2000 Order and obligates the Court to at least modify or vacate that original order. The moving Defendants put forth what they contend to be the “stellar” successes of NUSD and supposedly great strides taken by the State to comply with the Court’s Order.

There is no doubt that NUSD is doing substantially better that it was in 2000. The State’s superintendent of schools is doing better than it was in 2000 with regards to its role in making sure that children receive quality education. The Arizona Department of Education (“A.D.E.”) is doing much more than it was in 2000, with regard to creating standards, norms and oversight for Arizona’s public schools and students with regard to ELL programs. It is apparent that the A.D.E. has taken its role seriously and is endeavoring to establish appropriate standards and goals for all students in Arizona. It should be noted that it would be premature to make an assessment of some of these changes. Indeed, many of the new standards are still evolving. Unfortunately, the moving State Defendants and Legislative Interveners are not doing better as it pertains to satisfying the original Court Order.

The strides made by NUSD have been made largely as a result of their efforts alone. The State Superintendent and State Legislators sing the praises of Mr. Kelt Cooper-—-he was called Super Cooper due to his efforts in the NUSD—and his noted achievements during his tenure as Superintendent for NUSD however, he is but one person and is no longer employed by NUSD. The success or failure of the children of NUSD or any other School district should not depend on having a “Super Cooper” at the helm. The State must establish clear rules and requirements that can be fulfilled and followed, no matter who is in charge.

Several claims were made suggesting that NUSD is doing well, however NUSD’s success is fleeting at best, particularly as it pertains to NUSD’s high school students. It is great that children in elementary and middle school are doing better however, that is not sufficient. Success must also include the high school students of NUSD. Currently, this is not being accomplished.

All parties agree that learning English doesn’t take place in a vacuum. Also, all parties agree that it takes a number of resources and often more than two years to achieve success in any ELL program. Plaintiffs argue that the impetus for success in NUSD was greatly attributed to the raising of their ELL program costs, which were $1,570.00 more than the base level funding normally provided by the State. The moving Defendants argue that the successes at NUSD qualify as “changed circumstances” and ask the Court to lift its sanctions.

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Related

Horne v. Flores
557 U.S. 433 (Supreme Court, 2009)
United States v. Texas
572 F. Supp. 2d 726 (E.D. Texas, 2008)
California Department of Social Services v. Leavitt
523 F.3d 1025 (Ninth Circuit, 2008)
Flores Ex Rel. Flores v. Arizona
516 F.3d 1140 (Ninth Circuit, 2008)
Flores v. Horne
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
480 F. Supp. 2d 1157, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20716, 2007 WL 896267, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/flores-v-arizona-azd-2007.