But, after three decades of bilingual instruction in California, the civil rights obligations of schools remain oblique and unanswered, experts say. But we haven't had any Supreme Court ruling on whether native-language instruction is necessary. While Lyons and other educators have no doubt the initiative would be challenged by lawsuits, he believes school districts should prepare for the possibility of English-only classrooms. There would be a stay, but the initiative could very well be upheld. Former state Sen. Gary Hart, co-director of the Institute for Education Reform at Cal State Sacramento, agrees that the initiative will likely be tied up in courts, but only for a while.
Districts ought to have a contingency plan.