It is perhaps ironic that the contemporary bilingual education movement was triggered in part by a U.S. Supreme Court case brought by San Francisco Chinese American families. In the landmark 1973 Lau vs. Nichols case, the high court said public schools had to offer students who weren't proficient in English equal educational opportunities, which educators have broadly interpreted to mean bilingual programs. These days, it's not clear whether Asian Americans support or oppose bilingual education, or even how much they care. Some polls have shown majorities as high as 70 percent in favor, but bilingual advocates question whether the sampling is large enough to be statistically significant. Among public officials, proponents include Garden Grove Councilman Ho Chung, and Westminster Councilman Tony Lam, as well as state Treasurer Matt Fong, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.
Children are our future.
We have to educate them. We have to have one common language for everybody to be able to communicate. However, Judy Chu, a Democratic candidate for the state Assembly from the Monterey Park-San Gabriel area east of Los Angeles, says the Unz initiative would hurt kids. This is a very diverse area. Lots of people come from other countries.