Supreme Court Orders Fresh Look at Arizona ELL Case

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today in favor of Arizona officials who had challenged lower federal court decisions that the state must provide adequate funding for its English-language learners.

In a 5-4 decision, the court decided in Horne v. Flores that the lower courts didn’t fairly consider "changed circumstances" that had occurred since parents in the Nogales, Ariz., school district had filed the original lawsuit in U.S. District Court.

The nation’s highest court said the case must be sent back to the lower courts for a proper examination of at least four factual or legal changes that have occurred since the 1992 filing of the original lawsuit. One of those changed circumstances, the court noted, is implementation of the federal No...