Associated Press - November 21, 2009 11:34 AM ET

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - A federal judge in Tucson has scheduled a mid-December hearing on the scope of future court proceedings on the adequacy of Arizona's public school programs for students learning the English language.

District Judge Raner Collins will hold the Dec. 14 hearing because lawyers for class-action plaintiffs and state officials disagree on whether the case applies more broadly than the Nogales school district.

Another federal judge ruled in 2000 that Arizona's English Language Learning programs didn't satisfy federal protections for equal opportunities in education.

Collins has tried to enforce his predecessor's order, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that the state is entitled to a review to see if its efforts have satisfied the law's requirements.

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