Jump to content. This piece was created for the Local Reporting Network of ProPublica in collaboration with Arizona Luminaria. Enroll in Dispatches to receive our stories weekly. A congresswoman from Arizona has introduced three bills to finance literacy classes, dual language programs, and training for English language learners’ teachers in the state, aiming to address disparities uncovered by Arizona Luminaria and ProPublica. Rep. Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat, submitted the bills in September. 153, on the same day that Arizona Luminaria and ProPublica revealed the state had reduced the passing score for its English proficiency test. Authorities have cautioned that the alteration will result in a large number of pupils being expelled from language assistance programs before they achieve a sufficient level of English proficiency to thrive academically. Tom Horne, the Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction who has consistently supported Arizona’s English-only policies, endorsed the amendment. The Reaching English Learners Act proposed by Grijalva aims to provide competitive grants of up to five years for colleges collaborating with high-need school districts or early childhood programs to train teachers to instruct classrooms composed of English learners. The preference is given to programs that prioritize recruiting teacher candidates who were previously English learners or belong to underrepresented groups.
