But it has not worked. The only thing keeping it afloat is the millions of dollars that goes to people who make a living from this failed government program. She said the sheltered immersion prescribed in the ballot measure is too unproven to impose on all California school districts. She objected to the one-year time limit as arbitrary and inadequate for many English learners. The money would come out of general school funds and probably would require a bureaucracy to ensure that the adults kept their promise to tutor, she said.
Federal law mandates that school districts provide assistance to students learning English.
So far, Unz's message has appealed to prospective voters. In opinion polls, Prop. 227 is favored by a 2-1 margin, cutting across all ethnic groups. Unz is particularly proud of the support for the initiative from the Hispanic community, which he believes has been most handicapped by bilingual programs. Unz, a Silicon Valley electronics entrepreneur with no formal background in education theory, ran against Gov. Pete Wilson in the 1994 Republican primary. He says he opposed Proposition 187, which would have withheld social services to illegal immigrants.