A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Arizona’s schools chief that challenged programs that some school districts use to teach non-English speaking students.

Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne argued dual language programs – in which students spend half the day learning English and the other half focusing on another language — violate a 2000 voter-approved law that requires those students to be taught only in English, KJZZ radio reported.

In a ruling Tuesday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper concluded Horne lacked the statutory authority and legal standing to file the lawsuit and that he failed to state legal claims against Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes and 10 school districts.

In dismissing the case, Cooper ruled districts are required to use language immersion models approved by the state Board of Education, and the dual language models used by the 10 districts named in the lawsuit had that approval.

“The State Board, not the School Districts, are responsible for developing and approving the immersion models. … The School Districts, like all public and charter schools, are required to follow a model as approved by the State Board,” Cooper wrote.