The rest of the students are taught mainly in English. School districts throughout San Diego County were anticipating yesterday's ruling. In fact, most districts began working to implement Proposition 227 not long after voters passed the initiative. I think emotionally, we have been on hold. One in four San Diego Unified students speaks limited English.
Bilingual education is dead.
He said legal advisers have told him the careful crafting of the initiative's language assures it will withstand legal challenges. Some pundits said that the majority of Californians supporting Proposition 227 were casting a vote for assimilation and the view that immigrants should learn English quickly. Students in bilingual education programs are taught in their native language for up to seven years as they gradually learn English. The new immersion courses would last about one year. Backers of the initiative contend that bilingual education is a failed 25-year experiment that slows the progress of students and contributes to a high dropout rate among Latinos.