SANTA FE—The Albuquerque school district’s bilingual programs are constitutional, but the district has failed to show that they are effective, a judge says.

U.S. District Judge Martha Vazquez issued her rulings on a lawsuit brought against Albuquerque Public Schools.

She rejected allegations that the New Mexico Bilingual Multicultural Education Act improperly discriminates against students based on their national origin by placing them in language-assistance classes.

Vazquez’s opinion and order, issued Friday, said key portions of the lawsuit are not worthy of a trial.

In March 1998, 14 Albuquerque students and their parents sued the school district, demanding an end to bilingual education programs. The programs seek to teach non-English-speaking students in their native language while they learn English.

The lawsuit alleged the programs failed to effectively teach English, so they discriminated against the students based on national origin. The lawsuit also challenged the constitutionality of the programs as they are administered by the school district.

Vazquez ruled there are grounds to hold trial on two points. One is on allegations by three students that they suffered retaliation for participating in the lawsuit. The other is on a claim under the Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1974, which demands that school districts take “appropriate action to overcome language barriers.”



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