The president of the California Teachers Association has urged teachers not to defy Proposition 227, the initiative approved by voters last week that restricts bilingual education. However, union leaders also said the union will provide legal assistance to teachers who are sued for not using English in the classroom, City News Service reported.

The union spent 600,000 to try to defeat the initiative. But yesterday, at the quarterly meeting of the union’s State Council in Los Angeles, CTA President Lois Tinson was quoted as saying, “I count on you to be sure teachers know they must comply with the law.”

The initiative is scheduled to take effect by this fall. Although opposed by most of the educational establishment–and all four gubernatorial candidates–California voters approved the measure by a 2-1 margin.

The day after the June 2 election, proposition foes filed a lawsuit seeking to stop implementation.

The State Board of Education is to create regulations to turn the proposition into policy, but many educators, including a group of 1,500 pro-bilingual teachers in Los Angeles County, said they may ignore the law.

Also during last Sunday’s union meeting, the State Council voted unanimously to endorse Democratic Lt. Gov. Gray Davis for governor in his race against Republican Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren. The union was neutral in the primary.

The group also endorsed Delaine Eastin for state school superintendent in her race against Gloria Matta Tuchman, a Santa Ana teacher who co-sponsored Proposition 227 and supports private school vouchers.



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