Earlier this week, a state Appeals Court unanimously overturned a judge’s previous ruling that individual school districts could apply for “blanket waivers” to Prop. 227. Although individual parental waivers for bilingual programs are an integral part of Prop. 227, blanket waivers would allow a pro-bilingual district to drag parents and their children into bilingual programs regardless of their personal feelings, and also avoid the initial 30 days of mandatory English instruction required at the beginning of every school year. This makes a huge difference—for example, the very pro-bilingual Berkeley School District, which sought a blanket waiver, has only been able to persuade 14% of its immigrant parents to apply for individual bilingual waivers.
To this point, Prop. 227’s record in federal and state court rulings is five to nothing, and all the supporters of our measure should realize that their efforts have already made a huge difference in California.
- No avoiding Prop. 227 for schools
Oakland Tribune, Tuesday, September 28, 1999, FRONT PAGE - Districts Give Parents Final Say on Prop. 227
San Francisco Chronicle, Wednesday, September 29, 1999
