In reality, they are usually monolingual classes in which students learn math and other subjects in their native language but make little progress with English. Only about 6 percent of children in bilingual classes in California are well prepared to move into English-speaking classes each year. A typical student spends three to four years in bilingual classes but can take as long as eight years to become fluent in English. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund opposes the initiative and has blocked reforms in the past. The group says the measure is really an attack on Hispanic culture and political power.
Schools receive several hundred extra dollars for each student in a bilingual class.
Yet Unz is far from an immigrant basher. He was a vocal opponent of Proposition 187, the amendment that cut benefits for illegal immigrants, as were many Republican business owners who rely on cheap immigrant labor. However, Unz has developed credibility with Hispanics by also speaking out against other proposals considered by immigrants to be racist, such as national identity cards. On this initiative, Unz has shrewdly concentrated on winning over Hispanic leaders and Democrats even more than conservatives. Unz says he became interested in bilingual education after reading about a boycott of a Los Angeles school by a group of working-class Latino parents who were irate that their children weren't learning any English.