Finally Get District's Attention Editorial Los Angeles Times Monday, February 26, 1996. The debate over bilingual education has ended on one campus with a promise that about 117 Spanish-speaking children will be taught in English starting in September. This result is a victory for the Latino parents who want their children to learn English now. To make their point, they pulled the children out of school for more than a week. Their boycott worked, but their children will win only if English instruction propels them to complete fluency and sustained academic achievement.
Most experts prescribe education in the child's mother tongue during the first years of school.
While the Los Angeles Unified School District is committed to providing bilingual education, state law gives parents the right to choose if their children will be taught in their first language or in English. That is what this fight was about. They charged that notification materials put high value on bilingual classes without adequately explaining the English-only option. As a result of their protest, the choice will be made clearer. However, educators would be derelict if they did not also explain that English-only classes are not the best choice for all children.