Proposal Revives Bilingual Education Debate
Several politicians and educators called on the governor Thursday to support legislation that would allow school districts to include extra reading and writing lessons for elementary students struggling to learn English, in a debate that has rekindled California's dormant language wars.
The bill, SB 1769, sponsored by state Sen. Martha Escutia (D-Whittier), additionally would restore about $1.6 million in funding for the state Board of Education that was eliminated in the 2006-07 budget, when a compromise could not be reached on textbook criteria.
Supporters of the bill argue that recently adopted standards for textbook materials do not address the needs of California's 1.6 million English learners, who trail their English-speaking counterparts on standardized test scores.
The new standards will govern textbook materials for elementary and middle school students from 2008 through 2014. They call for a curriculum of English and reading lessons geared to all students during the regular class period, plus an additional hour of instruction targeted at English learners.
Supporters of the legislation want to include an option allowing textbook publishers to submit materials designed to accelerate English reading, writing and comprehension skills for English learners during the regular class period, by incorporating more pictures and simple vocabulary.
Districts could choose to use the new materials, but they would not be mandatory. The Assn. of California School Administrators and more then 40 school districts have endorsed the legislation.
"Districts cannot continue to risk the development of literacy among English learners because of a lack of appropriate materials," Rosa Molina, associate superintendent of the San Jose Unified School District, said at a Sacramento news conference. "We want to move past the rhetoric and debate because we have the reality of children walking through our doors in September."
Escutia alluded to the politically charged nature of the debate. "There are people who look at this and say, 'Oh there she goes again with English learners, she must be pushing bilingual education,' but nothing could be further from the truth," Escutia said.
Assemblywoman Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), chairwoman of the Assembly's Appropriations Committee, said that textbooks cost California $500 million, and she said the state can't afford to spend resources on books that don't address student achievement gaps.
