That student's needs are quite different from those of a first grader who may be able to make a quicker transition from a native language to English. Proposition 227 makes no such distinctions. It would take away local control and create an educational straitjacket. Nonetheless, this measure has attracted broad support even in the Hispanic community, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of students in bilingual classes. That support is not surprising.
Bilingual programs are often ghettos of poor instruction.
The referendum idea took hold when a group of Latino parents boycotted a Los Angeles elementary school to demand that their children be excused from ineffective bilingual classes. Part of the problem is that the growth in the population of immigrant students in California over the past decade has created a shortage of qualified teachers. The status quo in many California schools is certainly depressing. But replacing bad programs with a plan to destroy good programs makes no sense. Proposition 227 will help voters vent their frustrations but will not help California's 1.3 million bilingual students enter the mainstream any quicker.