Bilingual Ed Debate Heats Up
The bitter debate over bilingual education in city classrooms will come to a head this week when Schools Chancellor Harold Levy and a mayoral task force are expected to present similar proposals to change the program. The plans center on giving parents of students who do not speak English well the final say on whether their child is taught in a bilingual class. Levy is expected to give his proposal — which calls for allowing parents to choose programs for their kids — to the Board of Education on Tuesday. The release of the unanimous task force report is imminent, said chairman Randy Mastro. It will call for the "most sweeping and fundamental changes in bilingual education in the past 25 years," he said. Right now, students are automatically assigned to bilingual classes if they fail a test of English competence. In such cases, parents also can opt to place their child in English as a Second Language — or ESL — classes, in which students spend up to three class periods learning English. Levy's proposal would have parents select from three programs rather than automatically assign students. While details remain sketchy, the options would include bilingual classes, standard ESL classes, and new, beefed-up ESL classes that would provide extra English instruction. The Daily News first reported on Levy's plan for intensive ESL classes last month. Supporters of such a program say it would move students quickly into English-only classes. Opponents criticize it as a sink-or-swim approach that could harm student performance in other subjects, and fear it would drastically reduce enrollment in bilingual classes. Levy could not be reached for comment yesterday. But the outline of his plan is consistent with the recommendations of Mayor Giuliani's task force. Mastro said has not reviewed Levy's plan, but noted the chancellor, a task force member, helped develop the group's recommendations. "Bilingual education has failed too many of our children," Mastro said. "We on the task force believe that fundamental reforms like giving parents the right to make an informed choice are needed... We want to give the parents the facts and then let them choose." Giuliani, who formed the task force nearly two years ago, has repeatedly called the current bilingual education system a failure. He ratcheted up his criticism in September when a report found that half of the city's non-English speaking students were still in bilingual classes after three years. It was unclear yesterday how the Board of Ed would receive Levy's plan or the task force's recommendations. Even with the Board of Ed's backing, significant reform of bilingual education could require federal approval. The city's bilingual and ESL classes were created by a 1974 federal consent decree, which remains law today. Mastro was optimistic that a legal battle could be avoided. "Largely what we are talking about can be implemented under existing state law and the consent decree," he said. |