Glodis's bill, which mirrors the California and Arizona initiatives, would replace bilingual education with one year of English immersion. Parents or teachers could approve a one-year extension. Cabral and Barrios say that is the wrong approach. Their proposal would preserve the current system, if parents in a district want it, but offer several others. The second option, ''structured immersion,'' is heavy on English, but non-English speakers spend at least 30 percent of the school day practicing their native tongue.
English speakers learn the minority language.
The Cabral bill would require annual tests of students on their grasp of English and would clarify qualifications for bilingual teachers and improve training. Seemingly rosy results in that state, though disputed by some, converted even leading opponents of the measure. In November, Unz repeated the feat in Arizona.