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State Referenda Bilingual education has now been banned in California (1998), Arizona (2000) and Massachusetts (2002) by ballot initiatives which received over 60% of the vote in each state. Children in these two states represented over half of the children across America who have limited English proficiency (LEP.) Defunding bilingual education The spread of bilingual education is partly responsible to the funding provided by the federal government. Frequently, this money is provided to bilingual education programs, but not English immersion programs. ProEnglish seeks to direct such funds towards English-immersion educational programs. We also support state and federal funding of programs to help adults acquire English. In 2001, Congress passed education reform, entitled, "No Child Left Behind," which quadrupled funding for the education of children who speak language other than English. Unfortunately, most of such funding has gone towards bilingual-education programs. The act does, however, require testing which is aimed at ensuring that schools are meeting basic objectives. It also included elements of the Parents Know Best Act, which had been proposed by Tome Tancredo (R-CO), which require schools to receive parental permission before enrolling their children in bilingual education programs. Federal funds for the education of students learning English as a second language previously were given only to bilingual education programs. Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ) had introduced a bill in 2001 which would force the Department of Education to fund programs beside bilingual education. The No Child Left Behind Act did do that, but ties any funding to quadrupling the funding for bilingual education. To learn more about what you can do to help.To return to our bilingual education issues page. To read about the current status of bilingual education in America. |
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