LOCAL IMPLEMENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF ARIZONA BILINGUAL EDUCATION STATUTES AND POLICIES.

Abstract

The study investigated the degree of compliance of selected Arizona public school districts with a set of state statutes which placed a limit on the amount bilingual education services a district could provide to students. The existing literature on implementation and compliance suggested that several conditions might influence districts to implement programs of instruction which would be at variance with the state laws. The study used questionnaires to gather program data from 40 school districts in southeastern Arizona. These questionnaires were screened to determine those districts offering programs of instructions which exceeded the restrictions of state law. Six such districts were found. Interviews were conducted with program administrators in each district to determine the explanations for noncompliance. An interview was also obtained with an Arizona Department of Education official to determine the role of the state regarding the bilingual statutes. Information obtained from the interviews revealed that several of the programs had been established under federal pressure to provide equal educational opportunity to limited-English-proficient children. These programs had existed long before these state statutes were put into effect in 1981. Data also indicated that the state statutes lacked enforcement mechanisms. The state agency responsible for those programs received no mandate to monitor districts or to enforce state restrictions. Also, this agency was federally-funded with a primary loyalty to federal priorities to keep programs in operation and with a service rather than an enforcement orientation toward local districts. No enforcement of the restrictions found in the 1981 bilingual statutes took place. Furthermore, administrative regulations for the 1981 statutes were formulated which permitted programs of instruction exceeding state limitations to continue. In 1984 new bilingual statutes were put into effect which removed the restrictions of the old statutes. The new statutes are discussed from the historical perspective of the earlier statutes.