((*.. (()FINDER DAT"((*EDPC.htmlDPC~1 HTM B%B%ESOURCEFRK((*EdUnz.htmlDUNZ~1 HTM ($$sEquitTCy.htmlQUITY~1HTM <J%J%zFundsh.htmlUNDS~1 HTM *J%uJ%HEAAA.htmlEAAA~1 HTM b$)%tHEAAP .htmlEAAP~1 HTM 7c$)%HEAPC5.htmlEAPC~1 HTM +d$+d$HEASL.htmlEASL~1 HTM b$b$ HEATEh.htmlEATE~1 HTM Ws$s$FHEATPI.htmlEATP~1 HTM c$)%fNHLA227.htmlHLA22~1HTM 6$K$^Riggs.htmlIGGS~1 HTM $%

White House Opposes California Anti-Bilingual Education Measure

By Cassandra Burrell, Associated Press, April 27

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Clinton administration officials, including the president himself, will travel to California to speak out against Proposition 227, a ballot measure that would dismantle the state's bilingual education programs.

Replacing a multiplicity of bilingual education programs with a one-year course of instruction taught mostly in English would leave schoolchildren without needed skills, including ones that will help them find jobs in the future, Marshall Smith, the Education Department's acting deputy secretary, said Monday.

"The best data that we have, the best research that we have suggests that the one-year immersion structure ... is a major mistake," Smith said. &qEDPC.htmlsTEXTStMl9޲92DPC~1 HTMEdUnz.html TEXTStMl6!jέj21DUNZ~1 HTMEquity.html TEXTStMlDVTDV0QUITY~1HTMFunds.html TEXTStMlDTQDT/UNDS~1 HTMHEAAA.html TEXTStMlM'Y.EAAA~1 HTMHEAAP.html TEXTStMlaM(˲Y-EAAP~1 HTMHEAPC.html TEXTStMl6M*M*,EAPC~1 HTMHEASL.html TEXTStMlM(:M(:+EASL~1 HTMHEATE.html TEXTStMl6aNN*EATE~1 HTMHEATP.html TEXTStMl!M(lY)EATP~1 HTMNHLA227.html TEXTStMllio(HLA22~1HTMRiggs.html TEXTStMll᱒D'IGGS~1 HTMUnzSurv.html TEXTStMll!jjA&NZSUR~1HTMVouchers.html TEXTStMl6NҲW%OUCHE~1HTMtional Presidentto speak English to be taught "overwhelmingly" in English for a year before being moved into regular classrooms. Supporters say the current system takes too long and produces children who never become proficient in English.

Residents of California, where 55 different languages are officially recognized in the schools, will vote on it June 2. Statewide polls show about 60 percent of voters support it, including about half the Hispanic voters polled.

Across the nation, about 3.2 million students have limited English skills, and 1.3 million are in local and state bilingual programs, the Education Department said. The number of limited-English students has nearly doubled in less than a decade.

Of some 5 million California public school students in kindergarten through the 12th grade, about 1.4 million have limited English proficiency. About one-fourth of those are in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation's second-largest public school district.

Although Proposition 227 does not appear to be unconstitutional on its face, officials trying to implement it could run afoul of federal civil rights laws, Smith said.

"Case law requires school districts to take steps to ensure that national-origin minority students with limited English proficiency must be able to effectively participate in the regular educational program offerings," Smith said.

Riley and Smith also criticized the ballot measure as one that would impose a "one size fits all" approach on the entire state. The administration's proposal would give local school districts the flexibility to design programs best for their areas and let teachers decide what is best for a particular student, they said.

"The Unz Initiative is a direct attack on local control of education," Riley said.

The idea that children can learn English quickly by total immersion is largely a myth, said Delia Pompa, director of the Education Department's bilingual education and minority languages office. Many may be able to pick up conversational English, but they often cannot read it at a high level or learn in it.

 

About LULAC | Members | Programs | Issues | Events | Publications | Links | Site Map | Home | Email