In August of 2012, Chicago Governor Pat Quinn signed into law House Bill 3819. According to Olivera (2012), the goal of the law “is to create a more inclusive atmosphere for immigrant families and encourage them to take an active role in their children’s education” (para. 1). Further, Moreno (2012) states that, “HB-3819 requires the state's Advisory Council to evaluate the success of bilingual programs and explore the benefits and possibilities of “parent academies,” an initiative to increase the participation of parents whose first language is not English in the lives of their students” (para. 2). The subsequent goals of the bill are to further extend benefits to ELLs in the state of Illinois in addition to promoting the inclusion of non-English speaking parent stakeholders in policy making. In the YouTube video broadcast highlighting the bill, Governor Quinn made note of the “everybody in, and no one left out” focus of both the state of Illinois and the Advisory Council on Bilingual Education (Quinn 2012). Following his statement in the video, MALDEF Staff Attorney Claudia Enriquez had the following to say, “as a result of the bill, the Bilingual Parent Advisory Committees will be afforded greater independence in evaluating the implementation of bilingual education programs, which is an important step in ensuring these programs success and accountability” (Quinn 2012). Additionally, Illinois State Senator Iris Martinez later noted in the video the importance of including parents of bilingual students and emphasized that their contributions, opinions, and suggestions should be valued and that this type of input would inform the General Assembly report on how Illinois’ bilingual programs are working within the state (Quinn 2012) The bill further supports the state’s “already innovative bilingual education program” (Olivera, 2012, para. 1).
How this law affects teachers, students, and education
This law will strengthen stakeholder input from families of ELLs and the non-English speaking community. It will also further ensure the ability for parents of ELLs to act as advocates of their children’s education. Additionally, teachers will be positively affected by this in the form of more parental involvement from non-English speaking parents.
Meador Wiki Summary
Summary of the Law
In August of 2012, Chicago Governor Pat Quinn signed into law House Bill 3819. According to Olivera (2012), the goal of the law “is to create a more inclusive atmosphere for immigrant families and encourage them to take an active role in their children’s education” (para. 1). Further, Moreno (2012) states that, “HB-3819 requires the state's Advisory Council to evaluate the success of bilingual programs and explore the benefits and possibilities of “parent academies,” an initiative to increase the participation of parents whose first language is not English in the lives of their students” (para. 2). The subsequent goals of the bill are to further extend benefits to ELLs in the state of Illinois in addition to promoting the inclusion of non-English speaking parent stakeholders in policy making. In the YouTube video broadcast highlighting the bill, Governor Quinn made note of the “everybody in, and no one left out” focus of both the state of Illinois and the Advisory Council on Bilingual Education (Quinn 2012). Following his statement in the video, MALDEF Staff Attorney Claudia Enriquez had the following to say, “as a result of the bill, the Bilingual Parent Advisory Committees will be afforded greater independence in evaluating the implementation of bilingual education programs, which is an important step in ensuring these programs success and accountability” (Quinn 2012). Additionally, Illinois State Senator Iris Martinez later noted in the video the importance of including parents of bilingual students and emphasized that their contributions, opinions, and suggestions should be valued and that this type of input would inform the General Assembly report on how Illinois’ bilingual programs are working within the state (Quinn 2012) The bill further supports the state’s “already innovative bilingual education program” (Olivera, 2012, para. 1).
How this law affects teachers, students, and education
This law will strengthen stakeholder input from families of ELLs and the non-English speaking community. It will also further ensure the ability for parents of ELLs to act as advocates of their children’s education. Additionally, teachers will be positively affected by this in the form of more parental involvement from non-English speaking parents.
References
Moreno, C. (n.d.). Bilingual Education Law: Illinois Governor Signs Legislation To Strengthen Language Programs (VIDEO). Retrieved June 20, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/16/bilingual-education-law-illinois-language-programs_n_1791731.html
Olivera, M. Will Illinois lead the country in bilingual education? (2012, August 15). Retrieved June 20, 2015, from http://nbclatino.com/2012/08/15/will-illinois-lead-the-country-in-bilingual-education/
Quinn, P. [GovernorQuinn]. (2012, August 9). Governor Quinn Signs Law to Boost Bilingual Education [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoWBTTpTwow#t=481
Additional Sources:
http://www3.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=3&RecNum=10460
http://www.lawndalenews.com/2012/08/parent-academies-to-help-boost-bilingual-education/
http://schoolsnapshots.org/blog/2012/08/10/bilingual-education-gets-a-boost-in-illinois/