By The Associated Press
Filed April 28, 1998 at 11:03 a.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A California ballot measure that would
dismantle the state's bilingual education programs is not based on sound
research or policy, say Clinton administration officials who are campaigning
against it.
President Clinton and other administration officials plan to travel to
California to urge residents to reject the measure, which goes before voters
on June 2, said Marshall Smith, the Education Department's acting deputy
secretary.
Proposition 227, written by Silicon Valley millionaire and unsuccessful
gubernatorial candidate Ron Unz, would require children with limited ability
to speak English to be taught ``overwhelmingly'' in English for a year
before being moved into regular classrooms. Supporters say the current
system takes too long and produces children who never become proficient in
English.
Statewide polls show about 60 percent of voters support the proposition,
including about half of the Hispanic voters polled.
Replacing the state's multiplicity of bilingual education programs with a
one-year course of instruction mostly in English would leave schoolchildren
without needed skills, including those that will help them find jobs in the
future, Smith said Monday.
``The best data that we have, the best research that we have suggests that
the one-year immersion structure ... is a major mistake,'' he said.
Instead, the administration is calling for an alternative strategy --
setting the nationwide goal of limiting most children's participation in
bilingual programs to three years.
The three-year limitation would be a goal, not a requirement, the
department said. Current law calls for, but does not require,
non-English-speaking children to go through three to five years of bilingual
education, Smith said.
In a written statement, Education Secretary Richard Riley said that
Proposition 227, also called the Unz Amendment, ``is not the way to go.''
``In my opinion, adoption of the Unz Amendment will lead to fewer children
learning English and many children falling further behind in their
studies,'' he said.
Today, Sheri Annis, a spokewoman for English for the Children, the group
sponsoring the initiative, said leaders were ``disappointed that the
president chose to ignore the wishes of a majority of Californians,
including a majority of the Latino population. ... If he had a chance to see
that California is not preparing its next generation to be competitive in
business and commerce by giving our children a substandard, segregated
education, we believe he would change his mind.''
Across the nation, about 3.2 million students have limited English skills,
and 1.3 million are in local and state bilingual programs, the Education
Department said. The number of limited-English students has nearly doubled
in less than a decade. Of some 5 million California public school students
in kindergarten through the 12th grade, about 1.4 million have limited
English proficiency.
When asked Monday whether he supported Proposition 227, California Gov.
Pete Wilson said he hadn't made a decision, but added, ``I'm strongly
leaning that way.'' He also accused the president of using the issue to play
politics.
``I frankly think he has no business, I think the U.S. Department of
Education has no business, substituting his judgment for that of the people
of California,'' Wilson said.
The White House said it's unclear whether Clinton will say anything about
the proposition during a trip to the state this weekend.
White House spokesman Mike McCurry said the California vote could affect
bilingual programs nationwide. ``There's some reason to believe that federal
bilingual education programs are at some risk because of measures pending in
Congress that would cut funding for those programs,'' McCurry said.
Smith said Proposition 227 does not appear to be unconstitutional on its
face, but officials trying to implement it could run afoul of federal civil
rights laws that require school districts to make sure students with limited
English skills can effectively participate in regular education program
offerings.
Martin Nystrand
Professor, Department of English (608 263-3820)
Editor, Written Communication (608 263-4512)
Director, Center on English Learning and Achievement (CELA)
Wisconsin Center for Education Research
685 Education Sciences
1025 West Johnson Street
Madison WI 53706
608 263-0563 voice
608 263-6448 fax