The U.S. departments of Justice and Education have launched an investigation into whether Arizona discriminates against teachers who are nonnative English speakers, state schools Superintendent Tom Horne confirmed to the Arizona Republic last week.
The state education department monitors the fluency of teachers who instruct English-learners. In April, it began instructing districts to fire those who aren’t proficient in English. Critics say the policy could eliminate talented teachers who have a positive influence on students struggling to learn the language.
Mr. Horne predicted that the federal investigation would conclude that the state did nothing wrong.
