Arizona and federal officials have finally reached an agreement to stop the monitoring of classrooms taught by teachers with heavy accents for poor grammar and mispronounced words. As part of the agreement, it's now Arizona school districts and charter schools that must test a teacher's fluency in English according to state and federal legal requirements.
This agreement was reached after allegations were made that Arizona was discriminating against teachers who aren't native English speakers, mainly Hispanic teachers. According to this new agreement reported by Arizona Capitol Times, the state must base their findings on how fluent teachers are in English, not how well they speak the language.
Tom Horne, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, said, "Teachers who are teaching English need to be fluent in English, and if kids can understand what they're saying, it's not an issue."
This agreement ends the investigations by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education. It's hoped this new agreement will avoid any possible federal civil-rights lawsuits. However, many remain opposed to this agreement, claiming students are unable to learn when it’s difficult to comprehend what their teacher is saying.
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