Bilingual Education Funding is Pushed
Kerry Fehr-Snyder
In the fight for bilingual education, money is the international language. That's why a group of Arizona legislators is pushing for $67 million in additional bilingual funding next year. "Every child must be given an opportunity to learn, no matter where they live or what language they speak," Rep. Herschella Horton, D-Tucson, said Monday. Hoping to push the issue to the forefront, Horton joined supporters of Senate Bill 1242, a bilingual-education measure. The legislation is sponsored by Sen. Joe Eddie Lopez, D-southwest Phoenix. It's designed to satisfy a federal court order requiring the state to spend more on students who speak limited English. "This is a civil-rights issue that was won by Flores," Lopez said, referring to the Nogales family that sued the state for failing to teach students who aren't proficient in English. But the chairman of the Senate Education Committee said the state doesn't have the money to fund the measure. "It (the bill) also has way too much central authority and regulation," said Sen. John Huppenthal, R-Chandler. "I believe in local control." In addition, Huppenthal said the bill gives more money to schools with students who score at the 40th percentile or lower on standardized tests. Despite the opposition, he promised the bill a hearing before the education committee on Thursday. "It faces a very challenging future. It has to compete with teacher pay increase, safer schools, smaller schools," he said. Arizona must improve bilingual education or face another court challenge. Tim Hogan of the Center for Law in the Public Interest said he'll return to court if lawmakers don't address bilingual education problems. "The real question," he said, "is whether they're making good faith progress towards complying with the court order." |