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California State Department of Education's Bilingual Education Page
State Superintendent Eastin's Press Release on the Passage of Proposition 227 (6/3/98)
Complete text of Proposition 227
Proposition 227 Emergency Regulations
State Board of Education emergency regulations. Effective July 23, 1998 to November 20, 1998.
Hispanic Dropout Project (U.S. Department of Education)
California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL) Website
CATESOL's mission is to promote excellence in education for English language learners and a high quality professional environment for their teachers. CATESOL represents teachers of English language learners throughout California and Nevada, at all levels and in all learning environments.
California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE)
The Mission of the California Association for Bilingual Education is to promote and support educational excellence for all in California.
District
Promotes Educational Choice
Oakland Tribune, 9/27/98
OAKLAND -- The battle over bilingual education has moved from the ballot box to the bodegas. When Proposition 227, or "English for the Children," passed in June, many assumed it would largely do away with bilingual education. But in heavily bilingual Oakland, the school district is going to pains to allow parents to restore the program one signature, and one child, at a time.
Oakland
Schools Struggle with Prop. 227
Oakland Tribune, 9/27/98
As the state's sixth-largest school district wrestles with how to implement the giant changes brought by Proposition 227, that sort of question highlights just how complex the situation can be. Principals, teachers and other officials will have to contend with various choices -- or the lack of them -- from 18,000 limited-English-speaking students.
Unz: District
Violates Prop. 227 -- Bilingual Education Dispute Crops Up in Gilroy
San Jose Mercury News, 9/21/98
Gilroy schools are violating Proposition 227, said the law's author, which means school board members and the superintendent could be sued for damages by parents.
State
Repels Bilingual Waiver Requests
S.F. Chronicle, 9/12/98
The state Board of Education rebuffed four Bay Area school districts yesterday after Governor Pete Wilson urged his appointees to fight the districts in court rather than consider their requests to be exempted from Proposition 227, the new anti-bilingual education law. To do otherwise, Wilson wrote in a letter to board president Yvonne Larsen, ``could potentially eviscerate Proposition 227,'' the voter- approved law requiring students to be taught in English.
House
Limits Bilingual Education Aid
Contra Costa Times, 9/11/98
WASHINGTON -- A GOP bill to limit federal support for bilingual education cleared the House on Thursday, three months after Californians voted to end such programs.
Board
to Appeal on Waivers
San Jose Mercury, 9/11/98
Still uncertain about what role it should play in the battle over bilingual education, the state board of education said Thursday it will appeal a superior court ruling that requires it to consider the waiver requests of school districts seeking to preserve bilingual classes.
Father
Loses Bid for English-Only Class -- Oakland Case Doesn't Alter Prop. 227
S.F. Chronicle, 9/5/98
Oakland schools do not have to provide an English-only classroom for an African American first-grader in his largely Cantonese- speaking school, a judge ruled yesterday in a case that has attracted national attention.
Waivers
Okayed for Bilingual Programs
Los Angeles Times, 9/4/98
After months of persistent lobbying, two south Orange County schools Thursday became the first in the state to win waivers that allow them to maintain unusual programs that teach children both Spanish and English. Creators of Proposition 227 denounced the developments, calling the move a clear violation of the new law.
Waiver Requests
Will Be Heard
San Jose Mercury News, 9/3/98
Several Bay Area school districts will get a chance to argue for preservation of their bilingual education programs before the state Board of Education next week. The board has decided to consider requests from 16 California school districts -- including Palo Alto Unified, Fremont Unified and Ravenswood in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park -- that want a blanket waiver from the voter-approved initiative, Proposition 227. Passed by voters in June, the initiative requires ``nearly all'' public school instruction to be in English.
Teaching
in Plain English Schools -- Students Struggle with Prop. 227 Restrictions
S.F. Chronicle, 9/2/98
As the first school year of the new English-only era begins across California, children may speak in any language they like. It is their teachers who must use English or risk a lawsuit from angry parents under Proposition 227.
California
Begins English Only Rule in Its Classrooms
Chicago Tribune, 8/31/98
LOS ANGELES--Seated at a little table with about a half dozen Spanish-speaking kindergartners, teacher Teresa Mendina led a counting exercise one recent morning at Forty Ninth Street School. Using gestures, elongated enunciation and other techniques, Mendina managed to elicit English responses from the children.
Judge
Delivers Large Bilingual Education Win
San Francisco Chronicle, 8/28/98
In the first legal blow to Proposition 227, the voter-approved measure outlawing bilingual education, a judge ruled yesterday that the state Board of Education must consider school district requests for a waiver from the new law.
Parents
Scurry Through Prop. 227 Loophole
Riverside Press-Enterprise, 8/28/98
An aggressive campaign to inform parents in San Bernardino city schools of their options under Prop. 227, has prompted hundreds of parents to sign waivers requesting that their children remain in bilingual classes.
Schools
Win Way Around Prop. 227
Contra Costa Times, 8/27/98
California school districts may still be able to opt out of the state's new anti-bilingual education law by requesting blanket waivers from the Board of Education, a judge tentatively ruled Wednesday. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Henry E. Needham, Jr. could require the board to hear local waiver requests -- something the board has refused to do. If the decision stands after oral arguments today, districts could petition to completely avoid voter-approved Proposition 227. The judge could also issue a temporary restraining order today that blocks Prop. 227 from taking effect in the 31 school districts that already requested waivers.
English
Edict Upsets Parents
San Jose Mercury News, 8/27/98
Parents of children in Redwood City elementary schools got a first glimpse of life after Proposition 227 on Wednesday, and many were unhappy with what they saw.
Young
Immigrants Prefer English to Native Tongues
Contra Costa Times, 8/26/98
SAN FRANCISCO -- A study that seems likely to play a role in the contentious debate over bilingual education says most young immigrants prefer to speak English rather than their native language.
Oakland Schools
Comply but Still Fight Prop. 227
Oakland Tribune, 8/26/98
OAKLAND -- Oakland Unified School District is fighting anti-bilingual education Proposition 227 in court, but it is going ahead with implementing the requirements of the new state law this year.
Few
Teachers Take Texas' Offer
Los Angeles Times, 8/23/98
A Texas school district's drive to recruit bilingual teachers in Southern California in the wake of Proposition 227's passage yielded few takers.
San Jose Unified school board trustees Thursday unanimously approved a request from parents at River Glen School's dual-language immersion program to seek state permission to become an alternative school -- an attempt to insulate it from a new state mandate requiring non-English-speaking students to be taught predominantly in English.
San Jose
School Seeks to Protect Bilingual Program
San Jose Mercury News, 8/20/98
Parents at San Jose Unified's dual immersion Spanish-language school may soon ask state schools chief Delaine Eastin for permission to become an alternative campus -- a special designation that exempts it from most state laws, including those governing bilingual education.
Bilingual
Programs Remain in San Jose For Now
San Jose Mercury News, 8/18/98
San Jose Unified School District can continue to teach Spanish-speaking students in their native language, at least temporarily, despite the passage of a measure that bans most bilingual education programs in California, a federal judge has ruled.
Spanish
Bilingual Classes OK in San Jose
San Francisco Chronicle, 8/18/98
A federal judge has ordered the San Jose Unified School District to offer bilingual classes for its Spanish-speaking students when school begins next month -- creating what may be the last refuge for the endangered teaching system in California. In a temporary order issued yesterday, District Judge Ronald Whyte found that California's Proposition 227 conflicts with existing federal anti-discrimination measures imposed on the San Jose district in 1994.
Essay -- The Mystery
of Model B
Los Angeles Times, 8/16/98
All right, here's your Sunday morning puzzle. Read the descriptions below of two classroom models. Choose the single word that marks the key distinction between them.
Model A
This model provides instruction in English. Students will be taught English language skills and academic vocabulary in English. Students will be taught subjects using special methods in English, with primary language for clarification, as needed.
Model B
This model provides instruction primarily in English. Students will be taught English language skills in English. Students will be taught subjects using special methods in English combined with primary language instructional support.
Year Round
Schools First to Test Effects of Prop. 227
San Jose Mercury News, 8/9/98
The world was supposed to change dramatically for Vicky Esparza's second-grade bilingual class last week. Her students are among the first in California to be taught under Proposition 227, the voter-approved initiative aimed at banishing bilingual education from public schools. But when the long arm of the new law tapped Esparza on the shoulder Monday, she and her Spanish-speaking students barely noticed.
California
Schools Toddle as Bilingualism Ends
New York Times, 8/8/98
This week, with the beginning of a new term in 50 year-round public schools in Los Angeles, the nation's most diverse and populous state took its first shaky steps into the uncertain new world of Proposition 227, the ballot measure that effectively dismantles 30 years of bilingual education in California.
'Gag Order' on
Prop.227 Appears to be Softening
Los Angeles Times, 8/8/98
A dozen teachers opposed to the state's new anti-bilingual education law gathered at a downtown elementary school Friday to protest a so-called gag order barring them from advising parents to seek exemptions from English immersion classes created under Proposition 227 guidelines.
Largely
Latino School Is Closely Watched for Reaction to Immersion
Los Angeles Times, 8/8/98
After first week of English-only lessons, teachers tread carefully and parents take a wait and see attitude to see if the new methods are working.
The Case Against Bilingual
Education
Atlantic Monthly, May 1998
BILINGUAL education is a classic example of an experiment that was begun with the best of humanitarian intentions but has turned out to be terribly wrongheaded. To understand this experiment, we need to look back to the mid-1960s, when the civil-rights movement for African-Americans was at its height and Latino activists began to protest the damaging circumstances that led to unacceptably high proportions of school dropouts among Spanish-speaking children -- more than 50 percent nationwide.
With Gestures, but not
Chaos, Prop. 227 Begins
Los Angeles Times, 8/4/98
The post-bilingual age began in Los Angeles schools Monday with uncertainty, improvisation and a good many hand gestures--but seemingly none of the chaos predicted by apprehensive educators.
Students,
teachers struggle to adjust on first day of English-only instruction
Washington Post, 8/4/98
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 3—The sweeping social experiment known as bilingual education officially ended today in the state where it began. Confusion reigned in many California school districts and defiance in others as teachers struggled to switch from Korean, Armenian and Spanish to all-English, all the time, often without the help of textbooks or lesson plans.
Schools Begin Pushing
Aside Foreign Languages
Contra Costa Times, 8/4/98
One teacher believes Prop. 227's emphasis on English will not work as well as bilingual education, but she takes care to comply.
New Law Takes Effect in
California Classrooms
Contra Costa Times, 8/3/98
LOS ANGELES -- Teacher Isabel Rodriguez was nervous and frustrated Monday as she looked upon the bright faces of her 18 first graders starting a new session of year-round school. "They're anxious anyway because it's their first day of school, and I was unable to console them in their language," said Ms. Rodriguez, 28, who teaches at Theresa Hughes Elementary School. "So I had to use simple, basic words in English to tell them that everything will be all right."
Many Latinos Fare
Better in Catholic Schools
Los Angeles Times, 8/3/98
As wealthy California parents put their children in suburban private schools, low-income immigrants from Latin America and Asia have turned to inner-city Catholic schools where a host of national studies say disadvantaged black and Latino students are outperforming their public school counterparts.
Bilingual
Teachers Still in Demand Despite Prop. 227
San Jose Mercury News, 8/2/98
The end of statewide bilingual education hasn't diminished the demand for trained bilingual teachers in California schools. In local schools ranging from San Jose to San Mateo, district officials say language skills are still viewed as a plus for a teacher just entering the job market.
Prop.
227 Jitters Hit Teachers
Contra Costa Times, 8/2/98
The measure formally kicks in this week, bringing with it concern, confusion
State
Board Gets Crash Course on Implementing Prop. 227
Los Angeles Times, 8/1/98
SACRAMENTO--Up and down the state, public school officials have clamored for answers to a question posed by the passage of Proposition 227: If not bilingual education, then what?
Appeals
Court Declines to Halt Proposition 227
S.F. Chronicle, 8/1/98
A federal appeals court refused yesterday to block Proposition 227, the voter-approved initiative that bans bilingual education in California. The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco denied without comment a request by bilingual education advocates for an injunction that would have prevented the measure from taking effect Monday.
11th
Hour Lawsuit Filed Against Prop. 227
L.A. Times, 7/31/98
Attorneys representing children with limited English abilities filed a last-ditch lawsuit Thursday in federal court seeking to halt Los Angeles schools from putting the anti-bilingual education Proposition 227 into effect next week.
Educators
Working Around Prop. 227
S.F. Chronicle, 7/31/98
The voters who approved Proposition 227 assumed that by fall, California's schoolchildren would be hearing nothing but English in their classrooms. But in many Bay Area school districts, bilingual education lives. Educators say most children will find bilingual classes waiting for them when they go back to school, but with one difference: an extra layer of bureaucracy needed to make it all legal under Proposition 227.
Bilingual Education
Schools may Sneak Past Prop. 227
San Jose Mercury News, 7/29/98
A little-known aspect of state education law may allow districts to set up alternative schools for bilingual education, circumventing the sweeping ban imposed by Proposition 227.
Charter
Schools Exempt from Prop. 227, State Says
Los Angeles Times, 7/28/98
California's 154 experimental charter schools are exempt from the provisions of Proposition 227 and remain free to continue bilingual education programs without sanctions, state education officials said Monday.
Appeals
Court Urged to Quash Proposition 227
San Jose Mercury News, 7/25/98
Supporters of bilingual education have asked a federal appeals court to block Proposition 227, the initiative requiring all students to be taught in English. Organizations representing students in bilingual classes and their parents filed an appeal Thursday with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging last week's decision by a federal judge to allow Proposition 227 to take effect this fall.
Test
Scores Reveal 2-Tiered Education
S.F. Examiner, 7/22/98
Posing a staggering challenge to the state, scores on a new achievement exam show students who are fluent in English do dramatically better than their limited-English speaking peers in every subject and grade. "These results clearly indicate that what we have in the state of California is a public education system that is separate and unequal," (State Board of Education President Yvonne) Larsen said. "We have one system for those with English skills and one for those without."
Parents Urged to Seek
Bilingual Waivers
Los Angeles Times, 7/17/98
Even as it promised to appeal a federal judge's refusal to block implementation of Proposition 227, a leading Latino rights organization announced plans for a statewide campaign to encourage thousands of parents to seek special permits to continue bilingual education.
Prop. 227
Court Challenge Fails
San Jose Mercury News, 7/16/98
A federal judge Wednesday dealt a swift and enfeebling blow to a lawsuit challenging the legality of Proposition 227 and upheld the voter-approved measure that all but eliminates bilingual education in California. The ruling probably will ensure that the state's school districts will be forced to comply with the proposition's provisions when classes begin in September.
S.F.
Ignores Ruling on Prop. 227
S.F. Examiner, 7/16/98
San Francisco schools will continue to provide bilingual education, despite a federal judge's decision not to block implementation of voter-approved Proposition 227.
Prop. 227 Upheld by U.S. Judge
`No constitutional right to bilingual education'
S.F. Chronicle, 7/16/98
In a speedy decision intended to resolve how California will teach non-English-speaking children before they go back to school, a federal judge yesterday rejected a move to block voter-approved Proposition 227.
Ruling
Clears Way for Prop. 227
S.F. Examiner, 7/15/98
A federal judge refused Wednesday to block Proposition 227, the initiative that bans bilingual education and requires all students to be taught in English.
State
starts putting Proposition 227 in place: Flexibility built into rules for school districts
Sacramento Bee, 7/10/98
The California State Board of Education unanimously adopted emergency regulations Thursday intended to give local schools and parents as much flexibility as possible in carrying out Proposition 227, the voter-approved initiative that sought to end bilingual education.
Proposition 227 Guidelines
'Flexible'
Contra Costa Times, 7/10/98
The state Board of Education approved guidelines Thursday that mean school districts must start complying with a new law intended to eliminate most bilingual education programs.
Bilingual
Surprise In State Testing
Many native-English speakers outscored in S.F., San Jose
S.F. Chronicle, 7/7/98
Achievement test scores from two of the Bay Area's largest school districts reveal a surprising result: Graduates of bilingual education programs out- scored native English speakers in most subjects and in most grades.
The
Idealogue Who 'Fixed' Bilingual Education
New York Times, 6/14/98
Ron Unz, the man who beat bilingual education in the nation's most populous state, is no slick demagogue or smooth revolutionary.
Teachers Union Advocates
Compliance with Prop. 227
Contra Costa Times, 6/7/98
The president of the California Teachers Association on Saturday urged the group's 280,000 members to teach according to the provisions of Prop. 227, the anti-bilingual education initiative passed by voters last week. But union officials also made it clear that teachers who are sued under the terms of the proposition for "curricular malpractice" -- meaning that they fail to use enough English in the classroom -- will be aggressively defended by the union in court.
Foes of
227 Face Tough Court Fight
Contra Costa Times, 6/7/98
The early prognosis is poor for the lawsuit filed Wednesday challenging the constitutionality of Prop. 227 -- that's based on the analysis of legal experts as well as the absence of clear legal precedent in support of forcing states to provide bilingual education. Also, the case has been assigned to one of Northern California's most conservative federal judges, which won't help the suit's chances.
Schools Try to Resist Bilingual Law -- Waiver request, suits or civil
disobedience
S.F. Chronicle, 6/6/98
Teachers, school administrators and elected officials can be sued and held personally liable if they do not comply with the provisions of Proposition 227. ``Supporters of bilingual education are extraordinarily stubborn,'' said businessman Ron Unz, the measure's author. ``But they can behave as illegally as they want -- that's why we put the legal liability provision in. We expected a certain number (of districts) to repeatedly and willfully violate the law.''
Prop.
227 Challenged In Lawsuit -- Latino, Asian bid to save state's bilingual classes
S.F. Chronicle, 6/4/98
Superintendent Bill Rojas, San Francisco USD: ``Let 'em send me to jail,'' he said. ``I can't imagine a job I'd ever hold that would allow me to sacrifice kids that way. This is so offensive and so immoral. I know the guys in the black robes will see that.''
Big
Victory for Measure To End Bilingual Education -- Opponents say they'll file suit today
S.F. Chronicle, 6/3/98
Bilingual
Education Has Fallen into Disfavor
New York Times, 5/30/98
Bilingual education, once widely hailed as a humane and sound method of immigrant assimilation, has fallen into disfavor, disparaged as a bureaucratic boondoggle, even by many of the people it was primarily designed to serve: the nation's increasing Hispanic minority.
Speech
Therapists Fear Prop. 227's Potential Impact
Los Angeles Times, 5/24/98
They predict huge demand for bilingual aid as non-English-speakers are mistakenly sent for treatment.
English-Only
Tests Ruled Unfair for S.F. Schools -- City had challenged state requirement
S.F. Chronicle, 5/23/98
Reaching Out to
Parents, In Spanish
Contra Costa Times, 5/17/98
Educators won't drop bilingual programs -- Bay Area officials bitterly
oppose Prop. 227, plan court fight if measure passes
S.F. Chronicle, 5/10/98
Bilingual
Teachers Say They Would Defy Prop. 227
Los Angeles Times, 5/4/98
Report:
White House opposes banning bilingual education
Associated Press, 4/27/98
Students
Learn to be Bilingual -- and to belong
Contra Costa Times, 4/13/98
Group
Helps Oakland Dad Fight Son's Bilingual Class -- Kindergartner taught partly in Chinese
S.F. Chronicle, 4/11/98
Passing or Failing?
Bilingual Classes Are Put to the Test
Contra Costa Times, 3/29/98
State's
Bilingual Decision Muddies Prop. 227 Debate
Initiative contradicts new state policy
S.F. Chronicle, 3/14/98
State
abandons (Bilingual Education) policy, leaves it up to districts
S.F. Chronicle, 3/13/98
Bilingual
education clobbered in poll
S.F. Examiner, 2/27/98
Voters
Set to Dump Bilingual Education, Poll Shows
S.F. Chronicle, 2/10/98
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