TRENTON—Senators on Thursday approved legislation allowing school districts to avoid what some administrators say is the inconvenience and expense of providing bilingual education classes.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. John P. Scott, R-Lyndhurst, and Senate President Donald T. DiFrancesco, R-Union, would allow the Department of Education to grant exemptions to a 1974 state law requiring full-time bilingual teachers for each language spoken by more than 20 students in a district. The bill passed by a vote of 36 to 1, with Sen. Wayne R. Bryant, D-Camden, dissenting.

State officials routinely have granted those exemptions. But Attorney General Deborah T. Poritz recently ruled that such waivers violate state law.

Without this legislative action, schools face a September deadline for establishing bilingual classes, which teach students in a mix of English and their native languages until they are ready for classes taught completely in English.

School administrators argue that the legislation is needed to avoid budget and personnel emergencies when school opens in the fall. School budgets must be submitted to county school superintendents for approval by March 8. Providing bilingual classes for every language could prove costly, and teachers may not be available, said Frank Belluscio, spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association.

“There is a terrible need for more flexibility,” he said.

Karen Joseph, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Education Association, which represents public school teachers, said her members oppose the legislation because it doesn’t include minimum standards for language classes.

“Some boards might provide a meaningful alternative program, but other boards won’t,” Joseph said. “This bill is this quick, easy solution. It doesn’t put kids first.”

Similar legislation is awaiting action in the Assembly.



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