Most school districts will spend the summer training teachers in English immersion techniques to meet the fall 2001 deadline for English-only classes. But school officials' opinions differ on what Prop. 203 will mean to the state's 146,000 students with limited English. Much of the confusion stems from the proposition's language, which many lawyers are still struggling to understand, said Debra Gomez, assistant superintendent for Tempe Elementary, where 3,000 of its 13,000 students are English learners. What's more, the Department of Education has yet to provide direction to school districts based on its interpretation of the law, she said. Others, like the third waiver criteria for students with 'special and individual physical needs,' are less clear.
Nobody knows what that means.
So we're all flying by the seats of our pants and will just try to do our best to implement the law. Some parents, such as Maria Torres, are already lamenting the end of bilingual education. Both girls are fluent in English and Spanish. I'm really afraid they're going to flounder early on and fail. This proposition really does these kids a great disservice.