Arizona Supreme Court Affirms Attorney General Mayes' Win in Dual-Language Lawsuit

PHOENIX – This week, the Arizona Supreme Court declined review of Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne’s lawsuit against Attorney General Kris Mayes, Governor Katie Hobbs, and ten Arizona school districts over a dual-language learning model, thereby preserving the Attorney General’s win from the lower courts.

"This is a great result for the people of Arizona. The Supreme Court’s decision confirms that the Superintendent has no authority or standing to sue school districts that are doing their jobs by implementing a structured English immersion model approved by the State Board of Education." said Attorney General Kris Mayes. "My Attorney General Opinion on this issue made clear that the State Board, not the Superintendent, has the authority to approve or modify structured English immersion models. A lot of taxpayer dollars could have been saved if the Superintendent had just followed that opinion."

In 2023, the Superintendent issued a letter to school districts demanding that schools stop instructing English language learner students in a dual-language teaching model even though the State Board had approved the model. Attorney General Mayes issued an opinion explaining that only the State Board of Education has the authority to eliminate a dual-language model, not the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Superintendent responded to the Attorney General opinion with this lawsuit.
 
By denying review of the lawsuit, the Arizona Supreme Court preserved the lower court’s dismissal of the Superintendent’s lawsuit on the grounds that Superintendent lacked the authority to sue or standing to sue the Attorney General, Governor, and school districts on this issue.