Summary of Law:
Proposition 227, often referred to as "English for the Children", was passed in California in June of 1998. It was proposed by Ron Unz, a software publisher (Galindo, 1997). This proposition requires that all public school instruction be conducted in English (Jones, 1998). Any children who are English learners (ELL) will be allowed to undergo a transitional year of instruction through "sheltered English immersion" before being placed in English-only classrooms. Parents are allowed to sign a special request for bilingual education. Proposition 227 replaced more than 20 years of state-mandated bilingual education, replacing it with structured English immersion (Clark et al., 2011).
In February 2014, Senator Ricardo Lara introduced Senate Bill 1174, also known as the Multilingual Education for a 21st Century Economy Act, which would repeal the prohibitions to multilingual instruction that was passed through Proposition 227. This initiative will be on the November 2016 ballot (Melgar, 2014).
How this law affects teachers, students, and education: This proposition greatly affects education. Students are no longer allowed to receive bilingual instruction, without special request. Students who have Limited English Proficiency (LEP) are granted one year of instruction that includes very limited instruction in their native language. According to Proposition 227 (Jones, 1998) parents are allowed to waive this year of instruction if (1) their child already knows English and can score at or above the state average for his or her grade level, or at or above a fifth grade average, whichever is lower, (2) if the child is 10 years of age or older, or (3) the child has placed for 30 or more days in an English language classroom and it is believed by the principal and educational staff that the child has special physical, emotional, psychological, or educational needs that would require an alternate course of study (Special Education). This affects teachers because they are now mandated to only give instruction in English, even if they are bilingual and could better assist a student with their understanding using their primary language. This ties the hands of educators to be able touse what they might believe is a best practice for their students. Opponents of Proposition 227 believe that not allowing a student to continue to utilize their primary language in school will hinder their bilingualism, which will ultimately hurt them in their academic future, as well as in the job market (Melgar, 2014). According to Galindo (1997), proponents of Proposition 227 believe bilingual education is a failed experimental program that wastes valuable financial resources. They also believe that the more a student is exposed to English, the quicker they will begin to master it.This is an issue in education that crosses social, cultural, and political lines, dividing the population.
Galindo, Rene. (1997). Language wars: the ideological dimensions of the debates on bilingual education. Bilingual Research Journal,21, 163-201. doi: 10.1080/15235882.1997.10668659
Summary of Law:
Proposition 227, often referred to as "English for the Children", was passed in California in June of 1998. It was proposed by Ron Unz, a software publisher (Galindo, 1997). This proposition requires that all public school instruction be conducted in English (Jones, 1998). Any children who are English learners (ELL) will be allowed to undergo a transitional year of instruction through "sheltered English immersion" before being placed in English-only classrooms. Parents are allowed to sign a special request for bilingual education. Proposition 227 replaced more than 20 years of state-mandated bilingual education, replacing it with structured English immersion (Clark et al., 2011).
In February 2014, Senator Ricardo Lara introduced Senate Bill 1174, also known as the Multilingual Education for a 21st Century Economy Act, which would repeal the prohibitions to multilingual instruction that was passed through Proposition 227. This initiative will be on the November 2016 ballot (Melgar, 2014).
How this law affects teachers, students, and education:
This proposition greatly affects education. Students are no longer allowed to receive bilingual instruction, without special request. Students who have Limited English Proficiency (LEP) are granted one year of instruction that includes very limited instruction in their native language. According to Proposition 227 (Jones, 1998) parents are allowed to waive this year of instruction if (1) their child already knows English and can score at or above the state average for his or her grade level, or at or above a fifth grade average, whichever is lower, (2) if the child is 10 years of age or older, or (3) the child has placed for 30 or more days in an English language classroom and it is believed by the principal and educational staff that the child has special physical, emotional, psychological, or educational needs that would require an alternate course of study (Special Education). This affects teachers because they are now mandated to only give instruction in English, even if they are bilingual and could better assist a student with their understanding using their primary language. This ties the hands of educators to be able touse what they might believe is a best practice for their students. Opponents of Proposition 227 believe that not allowing a student to continue to utilize their primary language in school will hinder their bilingualism, which will ultimately hurt them in their academic future, as well as in the job market (Melgar, 2014). According to Galindo (1997), proponents of Proposition 227 believe bilingual education is a failed experimental program that wastes valuable financial resources. They also believe that the more a student is exposed to English, the quicker they will begin to master it.This is an issue in education that crosses social, cultural, and political lines, dividing the population.
Suggested Additional Readings:
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED491617.pdf
http://www.air.org/resource/effects-implementation-proposition-227-education-english-learners-k-12
http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-pol-legislature-bills-20140827-story.html
References:
Clark, K., Garcia, A., Gersten, R., Goldberg, A., Lasken, D., Littlejohn, J.,...Siano, J. (2011). The ABC'S of English immersion a teachers' guide. Retrieved from
http://www.ceousa.org/attachments/article/536/ABC's%20English%20Immersion.pdf
Galindo, Rene. (1997). Language wars: the ideological dimensions of the debates on bilingual education. Bilingual Research Journal, 21, 163-201. doi: 10.1080/15235882.1997.10668659
Jones, Bill. (1998). 1998 California primary election voter information guide/ballot pamphlet. Retrieved from
http://primary98.sos.ca.gov/VoterGuide/P
Melgar, Jesse. (2014). Senator Lara announces bill supporting multilingual education. Retrieved from
http://sd33.senate.ca.gov/news/2014-02-20-senator-lara-announces-bill-supporting-multilingual-education