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Arizona legislation that focuses on student education impacts the state鈥檚 future workforce and sets a tone for what鈥檚 to come with the business community.

Quickly into the legislative session, Governor Doug Ducey signed S.B. 1014, which addresses English Language Learner (ELL) students. 聽

State Senator Paul Boyer (R-LD 20), who is also a teacher, sponsored the bill in an effort to allow ELL students to spend more time with their English-speaking peers in the classroom. It also encourages the school to find its best method rather than requiring a one-size-fits-all approach.

The measure decreases the four-hour per day state mandate of ELL-based instruction- and separation from peers- to two hours.

鈥淭hese kids are smart kids, they just don鈥檛 speak the language. And, the fact that they鈥檙e isolated from their peers- I mean we all learned English by being around native speakers. That鈥檚 natural,鈥� Boyer said.

The more time ELL students spend in the regular classroom, the more time they have to engage with English-speaking peers and gain exposure to necessary K-12 content.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got 85,000 kids in this program and it takes them on average seven years to be reclassified- something is not working. So, these kids are missing out on content. They鈥檙e missing out on history, science, math and the content that we all got when we were in K-12,鈥� Boyer said. 聽

He explained that many ELL students struggle in the school environment because they are isolated from their peers for four hours of instruction.

鈥淲hat we were finding was instead of actually freeing students from monolingual non-English speakers, it was trapping them and being non-English speakers because their core subjects weren鈥檛 being taught. The English learning wasn鈥檛 happening,鈥� Lawrence Robinson, Roosevelt School District Governing Board member said.

He added, 鈥渂asically, we saw parents who were frustrated and didn鈥檛 know where to go to actually create a change. So, basically if you listen and observe you realize there might be a problem and parents are the first to see it.鈥�

Robinson explained that when parents and families of students notice an issue, they bring it to the school district鈥檚 governing board. This allows the board to keep up-to-date on parents鈥� concerns. 聽

Strengthening the ELL students鈥� English-speaking skills and K-12 education prepares them for future endeavors, such as postsecondary attainment and a successful career. 聽

Robinson explained that the working-class communities, immigrant communities and non-English speaking monolingual communities have a large capacity for economic growth.

鈥淲hen you grow an economy, you grow a workforce which is obviously crucial. You also grow a new customer base, you grow new connectivity and interaction for commerce,鈥� Robinson said. 鈥淵ou grow the ability to speak, relate to and trade with the local communities where a lot of these monolingual, non-English speakers have one generation or one degree of separation.鈥�

Preparing students in the classroom improves the likelihood of future success and financial independence.

鈥淲hat people don鈥檛 think about is you grow the ability to get folks onto their own two feet and off of government assistance. This really allows for the government to get out of the way for folks to be able to sustain themselves with a skillset that鈥檚 really kind of crucial, which is to be able to communicate,鈥� Robinson explained. 聽

Boyer pointed out that many ELL students in Arizona are missing out on classroom content. And, when students don鈥檛 learn the K12 content, they are less likely to be able to perform the necessary functions of a job.

鈥淚f we have students that are bilingual, that鈥檚 a huge boom, that鈥檚 a huge benefit to the state because we鈥檙e a border state,鈥� Boyer said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell you how many times where it would鈥檝e been beneficial if I did speak Spanish or any other language.鈥�

Decreasing the state mandate from four hours to two hours allows a focus on the importance of bilingualism, but also ensures ELL students are prepared for life after K-12. 聽

鈥淎llowing the actual school to figure out instead of the state coming from the top down saying a one-size-fits-all approach works for every single one of these 85,000 students from the state of Arizona regardless of the personal dynamics on their school campus, I mean it doesn鈥檛 respect teachers. As teachers, we know the needs of our students better than any bureaucrat in Phoenix does,鈥� Boyer said.

Arizona shares a border with Mexico, allowing for a variety of unique workforce development, trade and other opportunities. Mastering languages in addition to English opens doors for individuals. 聽聽聽

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got a world that鈥檚 increasingly, exponentially more interconnected and those places, people and communities that can speak to more of those global connectivity points are going to thrive and be ahead,鈥� Robinson said.