A bill that would allow students learning English to spend two hours of their school day focusing solely on learning the language, rather than four hours, appears to be dead at the State Capitol.
The bill has support from a diverse coalition of business and education groups, including the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Arizona Education Association, the Arizona Charter School Association and the Arizona School Board Association, which say the change would help improve the dismal outcome for Arizona’s English-language learners.
But Arizona Senate President Steve Yarbrough is single-handedly stalling the bill.
The Arizona Capitol Times reported Monday that Yarbrough said he will likely not allow HB 2435 to have a hearing in the Senate Rules Committee, which he chairs. The measure, and another bill aimed at allowing English-language learners to enroll in dual language programs, rather than the four-hour block of English immersion, have been stuck in that committee for nearly a month.
The bills are major priorities for several Southern Arizona school districts.
Educators and groups supporting HB 2435 argue that the four-hour block, which is among the strictest English-language learner laws in the nation, is detrimental to many English learners because it segregates them and doesn’t allow enough time in the school day to take other required classes.
Garrick Taylor, senior vice president for government relations for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the bill would allow flexibility for high school students to be able to complete the coursework they need to graduate.
We “want to ensure that students both get the language acquisition they need, but also complete the coursework necessary to reach other academic goals that ensure they’re ready for further schooling or the workforce after leaving the 12th grade,” he said in an email.
But Yarbrough told the Capitol Times that he was around for the crafting of the four-hour block, and he believes the model is working. He said he likely wouldn’t allow HB 2435 to be heard on the Senate floor.
The bill passed the House of Representatives on a 56-1 vote, and cleared the Senate Education Committee unanimously.
Yarbrough didn’t return multiple calls from the Arizona Daily Star.
Republican Rep. Paul Boyer of Phoenix, who sponsored the bill, said he has repeatedly tried to contact Yarbrough about the bill’s fate, but cannot get a meeting.
Boyer said it’s “disappointing” that Yarbrough wont even let him make a case for the bill.
“Maybe if someone can get through to him and explain why the four-hour block isn’t working,” he would change his mind, Boyer said. “From what I hear, nobody is getting through to him.”
