Language Rights in the States

1
Language Rights in the States

• California,Florida and the UNZ Anti-Bilingual
  Initiatives
• Stefan Rosenzweig, CLMER, Nov.05
• srosenzw_at_csulb.edu

2
How (Federal) Laws are Made
3
How (CA) Ed Law is Made
4
Diana v. California Bd. Of Ed. (70)

• Challenge to over-representation of Mexican
  American speaking children in classes for the
  mentally retarded (EMR)
• Settled by the State of California

5
1974 Californias first Bilingual Education Law

• Supports bilingual instruction
• Annual census
• 5 Million
• Local School Boards create own programs
• Programs to include LEP and Non-LEP
• No teacher qualifications

6
Chacon-Moscone Bilingual Education Act (76)
amended (81)

• Language Census.
• Bilingual classrooms required if over 10 LEP
  children in same grade and same language.
• Individual learning programs for other students
• Primary language identification
• Assessments
• Formal exit criteria
• 1/3 FES to avoid segregation

7
Chacon-Moscone (cont.)

• Teacher certification. Tests in second language,
  culture, methodology
• Teacher Shortage Teacher waivers/ teacher aides
• Parent could waive bilingual program.

8
Comité v. Honig (1985)

• California Department of Education settles suit
  requiring it to monitor and enforce
  bilingual-education laws.

9
Proposition 86 Passed (1986)

• English Only
• California Suptd Honig the legal basis for
  bilingual educationis that non-English
  speaking students learn English while continuing
  to learn other subjects as well. This goal is
  fully compatible with the new constitutional
  amendment.

10
Chacon Moscone SUNSETS (87)

• Gov. Dukmejan vetoes bills (Gov. Wilson to do
  same)
• Cal Bd. Of Ed. Policy amended 87 general
  purposes bilingual education law continue as
  well as parent advisory committees.
• Suptd. Honig Program Advisory (87) funding to
  continue with more district flexibility.

11
Castañeda v. Pickard 1981

• Three prong test
• 1. Whether a district is pursuing a program
  informed by an educational theory recognized as
  sound by some experts in the field or, at least,
  deemed a legitimate experimental strategy
• 2. Whether steps are taken to implement
  effectively the educational theory adopted by the
  school.
• 3. After a legitimate trial period the program
  is to be examined for indications that the
  language barriers confronting students are
  actually being overcome.
• The program must be Evaluated and Modified if
  barriers not overcome.

12
Castañeda (cont.)

• LEP students must be provided the opportunity to
  learn English and to have access to the
  districts educational program.
• Leaves schools free to determine the sequence
  and manner in which LEP students tackle this dual
  challenge so long as the schools design programs
  which are reasonably calculated to enable these
  students to attain parity of participation in the
  standard instructional program within a
  reasonable length of time after they enter the
  school system.

13
Teresa P. v. Berkeley (89)

• Argued that Berkeley failed to recruit and hire
  sufficient credentialed bilingual teachers.
• Judge Jensen applies Castañeda test
• Good teachers are good teachers, no matter what
  the educational challenge may be.

14
Proposition 187 (1994) Passes

• Undocumented aliens to be denied public
  schooling.
• Court overturns law.

15
California Board of Education

• Exercises power to Waive bilingual education
  requirements in 5 Orange County school Districts.

16
Prop.227 Passes (98)

• Replaces bilingual ed with sheltered English
  immersion
• Taught in English for a period not normally to
  exceed one year
• Once English learners have acquired a good
  working knowledge of English, they shall be
  transferred to English language mainstream
  classrooms
• Parental waivers of SEI, must try English
  immersion for 30 days
• Court has upheld. Federal law must be followed.

17
Current Legal Summary (CA.)

• Identification
• Assessment
• Castañeda dual obligation
• teach English, access to academic content
• 3 prong test

18
(Current CA)

• English Language Development
• ELD Standards
• Differentiated instruction
• Ongoing assessment

19
(CA cont.)

• Access to Core Curriculum
• Simultaneous (Keep Up)
• Sequential (Catch Up)

20
CA. cont.

• Programming Options
• Structured English Immersion
• Bilingual Education
• Two Way immersion
• Access to Other Services

21
CA cont.

• Parental Exception Waivers
• Staffing
• Redesignation
• Follow up monitoring and interventions
• (Parent Participation) ELAC and DELAC

22
Post Unz in CA

• Pre-UNZ, approximately 30 of students in
  bilingual ed. Now numbers cut substantially.
• Approximately 60 of bilingual programs retained.

23
Unz wins in Arizona- 2001

• Proposition 203 more restrictive than Prop. 227
• School officials may reject waiver requests
  without explanation or legal consequence.
• New state schools Suptd promises to enforce Unz
  strictly.

24
Unz loses in CO.,wins in MA. (02)

• Colorado Unz loses attempt to amend
  Constitution
• Massachusetts Unz wins on Question 2
• (first state with mandated bilingual education
  law)

25
Florida
26
FL. Statute 233.058 (Repealed)

• Instruction in the English Language shall be
  provided to a student whose native language is
  other than English..
• Students in such programs will not be eligible
  to generate state fundingfor more than 3 years.

27
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

• League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
• Aspira of Florida
• The Farmworkers Assn of Central FL
• Florida State Conference of NAACP Branches
• Haitian Refuge Center
• Spanish American League Against Discrimination

28
Settlement Agreement (cont)

• American Hispanic Educators of Dade
• Haitian Educators Assn.
• Individual LEP Students
• vs.
• Betty Castor, Florida Commissioner of Ed
• Office of Multicultural Student Language
  Education
• http//www.firm.edu/doc/omsle/

29
Agreement Highlights

• Identification and Assessment
• LEP Defined
• Home Lang Survey
• National Origin Data
• LEP Committees
• Funding

30
Highlights

• Equal Access to Appropriate Programming
• Goals English and Content
• Such programs should also provide positive
  reinforcement of the self-image and esteem of
  pupils, promote cross-cultural understanding,and
  provide equal educational opportunity.
• Equal access understandable and comparable
  in amount, scope, sequence and quality to that
  provided to English proficient students
• Documented in a LEP Student Plan

31
Highlights

• District Plans
• English
• Content
• Home Language
• ESOL Content
• Understandable

32
Highlights

• Equal Access for Immigrant Students
• Plyler v. Doe
• No requirement of Social Security numbers
• Centralized Registration

33
Highlights

• All Home-School communications in parents primary
  language unless clearly not feasible.
• Discipline prohibited for speaking a foreign
  language
• Personnel 2003 modification Administrators and
  Guidance Counselors
• State Monitoring, and Complaints