The Georgia Official Language Statue was signed into a law by governor Zell Miller to make English the official language of Georgia. The law encompasses the following operations:
The official language must be used for each public record, public meeting, and for official Acts of the state of Georgia.
This law must not be used to deny a person’s rights under the Constitution of Georgia or the Constitution of the United States.
State agencies, counties, municipal corporations, and political subdivision are allowed to print and use documents in other languages. However, if this is the case, an English translation of the document must be simultaneously filed.
This law does not apply if:
If in conflict with federal law
Other languages are necessary for public safety, health, or justice
Another language is used in instruction design to teach foreign languages
Another language is used in instruction designed to aid students with limited English proficiency.
Other languages are used to promote international commerce, tourism, sporting events, or cultural events.
Impacts of the law in Education This law was drawn with a stipulation that would protect speakers of other languages’ rights in various situations. In education, the law included a clause that protected students with limited English proficiency. The use of the official English language is not applicable to situations in which using another language can benefit the transition and integration of these students into the education system of the state. These protective measures allow students to receive English as a Second Language services in the most effective way. However, due to the nature of the law, a one-size-fits all approach has been adopted by a large majority of school systems.
What Galindo (1997) describes in his discussion of the school system in Colorado has been very evident in the state of Georgia. The vast majority of support programs for ESL students consist of English Language Acquisition. Like he pointed out, these programs place no value in students’ bilingualism. They “define students by what they do not have- and not by what they do have or by their potential to become biliterate.” (Galindo, 1997, p.190).
New programs are emerging in the state of Georgia and throughout the United States that are based on studies such as that carried by Marian, Shook and Schroeder provide evidence that supports bilingual education. The results they present in the article show the effects of bilingual education versus ESL programs in increasing English Language Learners’ academic language and performance. As bilingual education and dual immersion programs, such as the one presented in the video below, continue to grow and provide even more evidence of the benefits of bilingual education for any student, there may be a shift in educational approach.
Galindo, R. (1997). Language Wars: Ideological Dimensions of the
Debates on Bilingual Education. Bilingual Research Journal. 21(2/3),163-201.
Marian, V., Shook, A., & Schroeder, S. (2013). Bilingual Two-Way Immersion Programs Benefit Academic Achievement. Bilingual Research Journal. 36, 167-186.
- The official language must be used for each public record, public meeting, and for official Acts of the state of Georgia.
- This law must not be used to deny a person’s rights under the Constitution of Georgia or the Constitution of the United States.
- State agencies, counties, municipal corporations, and political subdivision are allowed to print and use documents in other languages. However, if this is the case, an English translation of the document must be simultaneously filed.
- This law does not apply if:
- If in conflict with federal law
- Other languages are necessary for public safety, health, or justice
- Another language is used in instruction design to teach foreign languages
- Another language is used in instruction designed to aid students with limited English proficiency.
- Other languages are used to promote international commerce, tourism, sporting events, or cultural events.
Impacts of the law in EducationThis law was drawn with a stipulation that would protect speakers of other languages’ rights in various situations. In education, the law included a clause that protected students with limited English proficiency. The use of the official English language is not applicable to situations in which using another language can benefit the transition and integration of these students into the education system of the state. These protective measures allow students to receive English as a Second Language services in the most effective way. However, due to the nature of the law, a one-size-fits all approach has been adopted by a large majority of school systems.
What Galindo (1997) describes in his discussion of the school system in Colorado has been very evident in the state of Georgia. The vast majority of support programs for ESL students consist of English Language Acquisition. Like he pointed out, these programs place no value in students’ bilingualism. They “define students by what they do not have- and not by what they do have or by their potential to become biliterate.” (Galindo, 1997, p.190).
New programs are emerging in the state of Georgia and throughout the United States that are based on studies such as that carried by Marian, Shook and Schroeder provide evidence that supports bilingual education. The results they present in the article show the effects of bilingual education versus ESL programs in increasing English Language Learners’ academic language and performance. As bilingual education and dual immersion programs, such as the one presented in the video below, continue to grow and provide even more evidence of the benefits of bilingual education for any student, there may be a shift in educational approach.
Galindo, R. (1997). Language Wars: Ideological Dimensions of the
Debates on Bilingual Education. Bilingual Research Journal. 21(2/3),163-201.
Marian, V., Shook, A., & Schroeder, S. (2013). Bilingual Two-Way
Immersion Programs Benefit Academic Achievement. Bilingual Research Journal. 36, 167-186.
For more Information
State Official English Laws
Does the United States need an Official Language?
The Impact of English-Only Instructional Policies on English Learners