HISD moves vote on bilingual education
Melanie Markley
Houston school trustees will postpone a scheduled vote today on controversial reforms to the district's bilingual education program so they can "open up the issue for more public discussion." Trustees Gabriel Vasquez and Jeff Shadwick had asked the board to approve on first reading a policy that emphasizes "the ability to read, write and speak English as rapidly as possible." The proposal, which will be presented today without a vote, stirred opposition from local and national Hispanic leaders who called it "an advocacy vehicle for the English-only movement" and demanded it be pulled from the agenda. Vasquez, one of three Hispanics trustees, said the board wanted to postpone the vote out of respect for two members who won't be at the meeting. The two other Hispanics, Olga Gallegos and Esther Campos, are attending an out-of-state conference today. "This policy is the right thing for children, but I'm not going to let good policy be hurt or hampered by politics," Vasquez said. "So by delaying the vote, it's the right thing to do in order to protect the policy." Under the proposal, students in the bilingual education program would receive full instruction in English as soon as they can demonstrate proficiency in reading. At the same time, the proposal encourages students to become proficient in two languages. State Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Galena Park, and others have challenged the proposal, saying it too closely mirrors what happened in California when voters approved Proposition 227, which replaced bilingual education with a year of English-language immersion. In a bilingual education program, students are taught their subjects in their native language while they progressively are given more English language instruction - usually up to the fifth grade. Nearly all bilingual classes in HISD involve Spanish-speaking students. Gallegos, the son of the school board member, said the parallel between HISD's proposal and California's anti-bilingual law is supported in a letter from Peter Roos, co-director of Multicultural Education, Training and Advocacy Inc. "The emphasis on English language assessment is very familiar to those of us who have observed the Proposition 227 proponents," said Roos, a lead lawyer in a lawsuit challenging California's anti- bilingual law. "They know that if all assessment is in English and accountability is based upon English language assessment, school districts will de-emphasize native language instruction." Vasquez said HISD's proposal is nothing like the California proposition. "People shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that because we are saying 'rapidly' or 'quickly' we are moving toward an English-only type of curriculum," Vasquez said. "This is not California. This is not limiting the time in bilingual education. Every child has to have the opportunity to learn at their pace." Vasquez said the board will schedule public meetings to discuss the proposal before an expected preliminary vote in July. A proposal requires two board votes before it becomes policy. |