Eliminating bilingual education slows the assimilation process and does not curb illegal immigration
The proposal violates the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Forcing students to speak English in the classroom will not promote assimilation.
Banning bilingual education violates federal law and is unconstitutional.
· In Lau v. Nichols, the Supreme Court ruled that denying linguistic-appropriate education to immigrants constituted discrimination based on nationality and was in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
Bilingual Education works and is necessary. Banning bilingual programs will harm students.
· Sink or Swim policies create a self-fulfilling expectation for children to sink. In Arizona, Proposition 203 (which restricts bilingual education) mandates English language achievement tests for all Arizona students, regardless of their English proficiency. (Crawford, James. “Bilingual Education: Strike Two.” Rethinking Schools (Vol 15, No. 2). Winter 2000/01. Available online at: http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/15_02/Az152.shtml)
· Short-term English immersion programs don’t work. Proper language acquisition takes 5-7 years of teaching. Students require these academic English skills, not “playground English” that is picked up quickly, in order to succeed at school. (Reifsnyder, Jill Marie. “ESL program steers toward academic success.” The Oxford Tribune, September 25, 2003.)
· Bilingual education does not cause underperformance. The dropout rate of Hispanic students is not linked to bilingual education. In fact, students from well-designed bilingual programs improve their academic English, and bilingual students who continue to develop both languages drop out less than those who do not. (Krashen, Stephen. "The Dropout Argument" (1998). Available online at: http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~cmmr/krashen_dropouts.html)
· Bilingual education speeds the teaching of both the subject matter and English proficiency. (Krashen, Stephen D. 1996. Under Attack: The Case Against Bilingual Education. Culver City, Calif.: Language Education Associates)
· Bilingual education helps non-English proficient students learn the basic literacy skills (reading, writing) that transfer across languages and can help them learn English faster. (Krashen, Stephen D. 1996. Under Attack: The Case Against Bilingual Education. Culver City, Calif.: Language Education Associates)
Bilingual education is not a factor encouraging undocumented immigration.
· There is no evidence showing that bilingual education is a motivating factor for undocumented immigration. Most immigrants migrate to find temporary work and do not have long term plans for settlement. (Heyman, Josiah. “What do we know about the U.S.-Mexico Border and Migration?” El Paso: University of Texas at El Paso, July 14, 2005).
Bilingual education is under-funded, understaffed and underdeveloped. We need more incentives for bilingual teachers, more funding, and more research and guidelines for developing and implementing best practices.