State Education Policy Formation: The Case of Arizona’s English Language Learner Legislation

Abstract

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The (il)legitimacy of Arizona’s English-only language policy: an analysis of legitimacy in language policy discourse

“…According to the court, these deficiencies resulted from inadequate funding, not an inadequate model (Arizona State Senate Issue Brief, 2018). In short, the central issues surrounding the case were fiscal, not programmatic (Lawton, 2012).…”

“…The proposition also elicits Arizona's English-only heritage when drawing from the authority of tradition. Indeed, even as an unincorporated territory, Arizona had codified English-only education-a law that was eventually changed in 1969 with the passage of the state's first bilingual education law and remained until the passing Proposition 203 (Lawton, 2012). Other forms of legitimation included Arizona having a "moral obligation" and "constitutional duty" to equip all students with the skills needed to thrive in Arizona's modern society.…”

Language Ideology Change Over Time: Lessons for Language Policy in the U.S. State of Arizona and Beyond

“… In the U.S. state of Arizona, language minority students who are English learners attend schools governed by a restrictive medium of instruction ( MOI ) language policy ( LP ). Educators and educational researchers widely agree that effective reforms of this policy are urgently needed (e.g., Arias & Faltis, ; Lawton, ; Lillie, ). Furthermore, several research studies (e.g., D. C. Johnson, ; Stritikus, ) have shown that the language ideologies held by policy‐influential individuals affect the development and implementation of such policies.…”

“…Though some flexibility has been added to the model recently, concerns regarding its efficacy and legality persist. Educators and educational researchers widely agree that effective reforms of this policy are still urgently needed (e.g., Arias & Faltis, ; Gándara & Hopkins, ; Lawton, ; Leckie, Kaplan, & Rubinstein‐Ávila, ; Lillie, ). Arizona is not alone among polities with controversial MOI language policies.…”

“…Several research studies have shown that the language ideologies held by policy‐influential individuals (e.g., politically active voters [Palozzi, ], language managers/administrators [D. C. Johnson, ], and teachers [Stritikus, ]) affect the development and implementation of educational language policy. For example, Lawton () concluded that, through the initiative process, Arizona voters who were grounded in a culture that values the language ideology of English as a national symbol played an important role in the shift to the current educational language policy.…”