The Unz Initiative The Unz Initiative by Chuck Sambar L ong before this nation had mandated bilingual education, those who came from far away shores knew that to survive and prosper in this new world, one had to learn English as quickly as possible. Californians who want a change to the bilingual education law will be heard this June when voters cast their ballot on the so called Unz Initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to dismantle California's present bilingual education law and replace it with a sheltered English immersion program.
Recent polls show that a substantial majority of voters favor passage of the initiative.
The California bilingual education law expired in 1986 and since then, it has continued to survive due to Sacramento's lack of will and courage to change or stop it. The bilingual education program in California allows students to be taught mainly in their native language for as long as seven years. Too many parents and educators contend that seven years is too long a period to learn English. They want a program that would immerse students in English language instruction and move them more quickly into the mainstream of regular school programs. Ironically, California has over 60 languages spoken by immigrant children, but the schools do not have the teachers or instructional materials to teach them in their native language.