SB 1397 Summary

• Establishes a five-year structured English immersion exemption pilot program run by the Arizona Department of Education.

• Selects up to ten high schools to participate, with no more than two located in counties with populations of at least two million persons, and requires at least two participating schools to be charter schools.

• Exempts English language learners in selected schools from structured English immersion requirements under Arizona Revised Statutes title 15, chapter 7, article 3.1 for the duration of the pilot program.

• Requires selected schools to have received a letter grade of A, B, or C pursuant to section 15-241, subsection H.

• Requires the Department of Education to submit a report summarizing findings on the pilot program's effectiveness to the governor, speaker of the house, and president of the senate by September 15, 2021, with the section repealing on December 31, 2022.