Horne v. Flores

Citation. 129 S.Ct. 2579 (U.S. 2009)

Powered by

Law Students: Don’t know your Bloomberg Law login? Register here

Citation129 S.Ct. 2579 (U.S. 2009)

Brief Fact Summary.

Students in the English Language-Lerner (ELL) program sued the Nogales Unified School District (Nogales) for violating the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (EEOA).

Synopsis of Rule of Law.

A party may seek relief from a judgment if continued enforcement is no longer equitable.

Points of Law - Legal Principles in this Case for Law Students.

The court held that there is no equality of treatment merely by providing students with the same facilities, textbooks, teachers, and curriculum; for students who do not understand English are effectively foreclosed from any meaningful education.

View Full Point of Law

Students in the English Language-Lerner (ELL) program sued the Nogales Unified School District (Nogales) for violating the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (EEOA). The district court granted judgment against the defendants for arbitrarily awarding insufficient funds for ELL programs.

Issue.

Whether a party may seek relief from a judgment if continued enforcement is no longer equitable?

Held.

Yes. The judgment of the court of appeals is reversed. There wasn’t any consideration regarding whether the defendants complied with the EEOA through the No Child Left Behind Act and increased funding.

Discussion.

FRCP 60(b)(5) allows a court to grant relief from judgment if: (1) the judgment has been satisfied, (2) the judgment was reversed or vacated, or (3) enforcement is no longer equitable.