Supporters of bilingual education say the approach enables students to keep up academically while learning English. Critics say students in bilingual education do not learn English well or quickly. In recent years, one-third of California's 1.4 million LEP students were enrolled in bilingual education programs. The state school board deliberately drew its rules with broad strokes to grant districts maximum flexibility in carrying out the new law, said Bill Lucia, the board's executive director. Against such an uncertain landscape, districts need to make their own best judgment about how to proceed, said Theresa Garcia, a policy analyst with the California School Boards Association.
Districts are really all over the place.
Other districts are going to the courts for guidance. Lawyers for the state school board have determined that although the board generally has the power to waive parts of the state education code, the board could not offer districtwide exemptions from Proposition 227. Charter schools, however, are exempt from much of the education code, including the provisions of Proposition 227, and observers point to such schools as a potential way to avoid the law's intent. The Oakland, Berkeley, and Hayward school districts have filed a petition in a state court to try to force the state board to consider its waiver proposals. The districts are scheduled for a hearing in Alameda Superior Court late this month.