Arizona Schools Falsely Label Thousands of ELL Students, DOJ Says

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, announced today that they have reached a settlement agreement with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to ensure that tens of thousands of English Language Learner (ELL) students are properly identified and not prematurely exited from ELL services.

According to the settlement, ADE and Arizona public schools must offer targeted reading and writing intervention services to ELL students who were misidentified as Initially Fluent English Proficient (IFEP) over the past five school years. The agreement also requires ADE to develop proficiency criteria that accurately identify and exit ELL students.

“Proper classification of ELL students is essential to ensuring that students receive the services they need to help them overcome language barriers and participate equally in the instructional process,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “We commend Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction and ADE for voluntarily agreeing to take significant steps to address the needs of Arizona’s ELL students.”

“This agreement highlights our commitment to ensuring that all ELL students receive the services they need to learn,” said Russlynn Ali, Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights. “All students are entitled to equal opportunities, and this resolution will help to make sure Arizona students receive the education they deserve.”

With the cooperation of ADE and Arizona school districts, the Departments conducted an extensive investigation of the state’s ELL policies and programs. They determined that tens of thousands of ELL students had been misidentified as IFEPs or exited from ELL services without sufficient English proficiency in reading and writing.

While ADE disagrees with OCR’s and DOJ’s findings of noncompliance, ADE entered into the agreement to voluntarily resolve the matter. The settlement requires ADE to provide targeted reading and writing intervention services to ELL students who were misidentified as IFEPs, and to develop proficiency criteria that accurately identify and exit ELL students.

The enforcement of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are top priorities of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division and the Office for Civil Rights is available on their respective websites at www.justice.gov/crt and www.ed.gov/ocr.