Public Instruction Lisa Graham Keegan have caused some leaders to express concern about whether she intends to fully comply with the law. She said she would not penalize districts that continued to hire new bilingual instructors. Keegan's remarks met with sharp criticism from Proposition 203 supporters, including Ron Unz, author of the California law and a leader in Arizona bilingual reform efforts. Unz pointed out that under the new law, school officials and even elected officials who fail to implement the bilingual ban may be held personally liable for damages. The law also stipulates that elected officials who do not sufficiently enforce English immersion instruction can be immediately removed from office.
English immersion is the law.
Anything else is breaking the law. In a separate statement, State Attorney General Janet Napolitano announced school districts would have until the beginning of the new school year to replace bilingual programs with the one-year English immersion classes called for under the new law. At press time it had not been determined whether the English language testing required of all students under the new law would begin this school year or next. The study was undertaken in response to Federal District Court Judge Alfredo Marquez' decision from the 1992 case Flores v. Arizona . If Marquez is not satisfied that the state is adequately complying with the ruling, he could cut federal funds or even shut down schools.