Nearly 13 percent of the students who started the Proposition 227-mandated English immersion classes a month ago have sought waivers to return to traditional bilingual classes, Los Angeles Unified School District officials said Friday.

Parents have requested 1,290 waivers on behalf of their children who attend the 50 year-round schools that began complying in August with the initiative that effectively bans bilingual education in California.

Although district officials said they did not know how many of the waivers were approved, they do expect the numbers to increase as more schools open Tuesday and year-round campuses begin to welcome back children on different tracks later this fall.

In August, about 10,000 limited-English-proficiency students enrolled in the one-year immersion classes.

Beginning Tuesday, 473 schools will open for the fall semester and will begin offering the one-year immersion classes as needed. Since LAUSD is the biggest school district in the state, the new school term will prove an important test of Prop. 227.

”We expect much more will occur when we have all schools return in the fall,” said Forrest Ross, director of the Language Acquisition Branch for the district.

Most parents seeking the waivers have requested the district’s basic bilingual program, which gradually introduces students to the English language, Ross said. Based on 1996-97 enrollment figures, about 124,000 bilingual pupils in kindergarten through 12th grade were classified as fluent in English.

The most-often-cited reason given for requesting the waiver was special needs, which covers psychological, physical, emotional or educational needs that demand a different course of study, Ross said.

Under the new law passed by 61 percent of California voters in June, schools are required to teach non-native speakers in a one-year English immersion program. Students who already know English, are 10 years old or older, or those who have special needs can receive a waiver.

At Dyer Street Elementary School in Sylmar, Principal Jim Morris has received 50 waiver requests from parents who want their children to be placed in a traditional bilingual education class.

”The parents have felt it would be very difficult for their children to be in a structured English-immersion classroom,” Morris said. ”They’ve been very pleased with the basic bilingual education program and their children’s progress, not only in their primary language but in their learning English.”

Under the law, children must remain in the new English-immersion programs for at least 30 days. For students who started school Aug. 3, that deadline passed Sept. 2.

Schools have 10 days after the 30-day period to accommodate students’ needs. If 20 or more students in a grade level request bilingual education, the school must create a class for them. If there are fewer students, the school can refer those pupils to the nearest school that can accommodate their needs, Ross said.

Whether parents are required to provide transportation is unclear. Ross said emergency regulations provided by the state Board of Education fails to address transportation.

”That issue hasn’t come up either,” Ross said. ”We’ll have to look at it as the situation produces itself.”

Morris said the transition has been easier than expected because of the limited number of children at Dyer who need to be moved.

”There was a lot of fear on the part of the public that it would cause disruption, but that’s not the case,” he said. ”It’s been going very smoothly.”

In Los Angeles Unified, parents of limited-English-proficiency children have four options under Prop. 227. Children can enroll in one of two English-immersion programs known as Model A and Model B, or opt out of the program entirely by obtaining a waiver and enrolling in a traditional bilingual education program or mainstream classes.

In the Model A program, instructors teach entirely in English and parent volunteers or teachers’ aides can help children in their native language.

The Model B program requires teachers’ lessons mainly be in English, but allows teachers to use students’ primary language to clarify questions or give overviews of lessons.

In the Los Angeles Unified District, there are an estimated 312,000 limited-English-proficiency students.

For the most part, however, parents seem to have adopted a wait-and-see attitude when it comes to English-immersion programs.

”They’re waiting to see what the structured English-immersion class means to their children,” Ross said.

At Coldwater Canyon Avenue Elementary School in Van Nuys, Principal Marvin Silver said he has not received a single waiver request despite holding four meetings informing parents of their rights under the new law.

”A lot of parents are saying, I don’t want my children to move (out of the English immersion programs),” said Silver, who added that many of his colleagues are experiencing the same thing. ”Many of the parents in this school recognize a need for their children to have a balance, to have English added to the program.”

Even at Dyer Elementary, most parents seem content with the English-immersion programs, which serve about 200 children in kindergarten through third grade.

”A lot of parents have been very satisfied with it, and they want their children to stay in the structured English-immersion program,” Morris said.

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PROP. 227 HOTLINE

The California Latino Civil Rights Network set up a hotline for parents concerned about Proposition 227, the ballot initiative that ended most bilingual education in the state, a representative said today.

By dialing (213) 252-0563, parents can ask Spanish- and English-speaking volunteers about the initiative’s implementation, said group spokeswoman Martha Arevalo.

The line, established Monday, operates from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekdays, she said.

Volunteers also will monitor and document violations of students’, parents’ and teachers’ rights, and offer advice about what to do when rights are infringed upon, Arevalo said.

People who call outside operating hours can leave messages and will be called back later, Arevalo said. Those who speak languages other than Spanish or English will be referred to other agencies.



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