Renewed Debate on Bilingual Education
The future of bilingual education is emerging as a focus of statewide debate, and an area lawmaker is in the thick of it. State Senator Guy W. Glodis, a Worcester Democrat, is the sponsor of a bill that would limit to one year the amount of time a student could be enrolled in a bilingual education program. Waivers allowing students to stay longer in the program would be granted under limited circumstances. The current law, adopted in 1971, allows children to remain in bilingual programs for up to three years, or longer if the School Committee and a parent or guardian approve. Glodis, who represents Upton, said he expects the Legislature's Joint Committee on Education to report out a version of his bill soon. He said it may include some changes he is seeking, including a requirement that bilingual teachers be proficient in English. But he predicted it would not include his one-year limit for students to remain in bilingual programs. As a result, he is backing an effort to place an initiative petition on the 2002 state ballot that is similar to his legislation and includes the one-year limit. The petition drive is being financed by Ron Unz, who funded the successful campaign in 1998 to pass California's Proposition 227. Glodis, who used the California measure as a model for his bill, is spearheading the signature drive for the petition in central Massachusetts. Organizers said last week they had already collected more than 60,000 signatures to place the petition on the ballot - exceeding the 57,100 signatures needed. Their goal is to collect more than 100,000 signatures. "Bilingual students have the lowest MCAS scores," Glodis said, "they have the highest dropout rates, and the lowest college admissions. So there are a lot statistics that point to the status quo not working. I believe these children deserve better from our school systems, and we cannot afford to wait any longer." But opponents say bilingual students will not be served by the changes the Glodis bill and initiative petition would bring. Democratic state Representative Jarrett Barrios of Cambridge said he has problems with the current law because it takes a "one-size-fits-all" approach to bilingual education. The Glodis bill and initiative petition, he said, have that same flaw. "Children don't come in one size and shape," Barrios said. "Children of different ages learn languages differently. Children who come from countries with different levels of English and different subject-area knowledge are going to be able to assimilate English at different rates." "Why not allow for choices for parents and kids?" Barrios said. "Why not allow for school districts to choose from a menu of education programs for these students?" |