Bilingual program rules under fire in Sacramento

The State Board of Education is backing away from a proposal to allow teachers and school administrators —- in addition to parents —- to apply for waivers to get students into bilingual classes. But the board is considering a less controversial plan to allow school staffers to recommend that parents request bilingual classes for their children.

The move is the latest pull in a tug of war between bilingual education supporters and opponents over how to enforce Proposition 227, the law that prohibits students from being taught in Spanish unless a district approves parent-requested waivers allowing bilingual classes.

The fight over the 1998 proposition, which was approved by voters and ended the state’s regular bilingual education programs, will continue this month in Sacramento as the board reviews regulations about who can apply for waivers for English-deficient students.

Last month, the board proposed a rule that would allow teachers and school administrators as well as parents to apply for waivers on a student’s behalf. Parents would have the right to refuse any waiver request sought by school personnel.

That proposal has been withdrawn after drawing a firestorm of criticism from bilingual education opponents such as Prop. 227 author Ron Unz, who slammed the board for trying to effectively overturn the law by allowing teachers to push for bilingual classes.

“The proposal to let school personnel initiate waiver requests flew in the face of the law, which requires parents to apply for waivers,” Unz said.

The revised proposal would allow teachers and school personnel to recommend waivers to parents but not to apply for them directly.

“The new proposed regulations make it clear that the parent still has to be the one to initiate a waiver,” said Phil Garcia, spokesman for the state board. “But it also makes it clear that, while parents have the right to refuse their help, school personnel can recommend waivers.”

Both Unz and parent advocacy groups that cheered the initial proposal said they can live with the change.

“Immigrant parents look to their educators for advice and have the right to get it or refuse it as they see fit,” said Mary Hernandez, an attorney for Multicultural Education Training and Advocacy, a San Francisco-based advocacy group for parents. “Teachers are allowed to give advice to parents about whether their children need gifted education or special education. To think that teachers would be somehow prohibited from recommending services to students with language needs is offensive.”

The board also is proposing to change a rule requiring students in bilingual education classes to take 30 days of all-English classes each year. Current rules require students in bilingual classes to interrupt their bilingual courses each year for one month of English-only classes in order for teachers and parents to assess their English skills.

The new proposal would require students to take the English-only courses for one 30-day period during the first year of bilingual courses. Students whose parents continue to put them in bilingual courses would not have to take the month of English-only classes each year.

The changes will be reviewed by the board in Sacramento on April 24, when the board could vote on the proposed regulations or decide to continue their review until later meetings.

About 12 percent of California’s 1.5 million students struggling to learn English are enrolled in bilingual programs where they are taught in their native language until the third or fifth grade, according to state statistics.

Contact staff writer Erin Walsh at (760) 901-4090 or [email protected]



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