WASHINGTON, June 3—The White House on Wednesday expressed disappointment that California voters have embraced a ballot measure ending bilingual education in its public schools.

President Bill Clinton and Education Secretary Richard Riley fought against Proposition 227 because they think it is a “one-size-fits-all formula for dealing with a difficult problem,” spokesman Michael McCurry said.

With 99.6 percent of ballots counted, 60.9 percent of California voters on Tuesday approved the anti-bilingual education measure, and 39.1 percent opposed it.

The measure targets California’s 1.4 million students with limited English — about 25 percent of the state’s school population — and has implications for other states such as Texas and Illinois with large numbers of immigrants.

Non-English speaking students, mostly elementary school students, now learn the basics in their native tongues while taking English lessons on the side.

Under Proposition 227, these students would enter a year-long immersion program. Upon completion, they would enter regular classes at their proper grade level.

California schools have a large number of first-generation Spanish-speaking immigrants, but they also have pupils speaking 140 languages including Armenian, Korean and Russian.

McCurry said the Clinton administration will urge Congress to develop “tailored approaches” at the local level to help students learn English. That effort would take place next year when Congress reviews elementary and secondary education.

“The White House considers the most important message from the voters in California is that we have to make sure students, particularly those who are immigrants, or children of immigrants, learn English as quickly as possible,” McCurry said.



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