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Both Amendment 31 and Question 2 would replace endless years of bilingual education with a single year of English immersion. Each was the work of Ron Unz, who passed similar initiatives in both California (1998) and Arizona (2000). [Full disclosure: English First Political Victory Fund encouraged a vote for Amendment 31.]
In Massachusetts, a lot of things worked in favor of the English immersion effort. Massachusetts was the first state to mandate bilingual education in 1971. The state then enforced its bilingual-education requirements to the point of absurdity, as Reason documented:
Massachusetts is also the home of two of the key leaders of the bilingual-education-reform movement. Christine Rossell and Rosalie Pedalino Porter, both led the fight on behalf of Question 2. Elected officials in Massachusetts, undoubtedly spurred by the prospect of the Unz initiative, passed a serious reform of bilingual education earlier this year. While Massachusetts politicians were willing to put the interests of immigrant children ahead of the demands of political correctness, Colorado's politicians, including Republican Governor Bill Owens, opposed Amendment 31. The pro-Amendment 31 side was also outspent 15-to-1 thanks largely to a $3 million gift from heiress Patricia Stryker. The Colorado anti-English lobby had other allies, like the National Education Association, which donated $50,000 to "No on 31." In the eyes of its political allies, the anti-English lobby could do no wrong, even as they ran a demagogic television ad suggesting that teaching immigrant children English would hurt the education of other children: "We know Amendment 31 will knowingly force children who can barely speak English into regular classrooms, creating chaos and disrupting learning." They also claimed, falsely, that Amendment 31 would cost taxpayers $30-$66 million. Even the firebombing of a car owned by Rita Montero, a leader of Colorado's pro-English campaign, failed to dissuade Colorado's politicians from supporting bilingual education. Yet despite everything,
the Colorado Unz initiative was holding its own as of October
28th, with voters split 45 percent-45 percent and 9 percent undecided. Lamm boasts of "draft[ing] and . . . passing the nation's first liberalized abortion law." Lamm also famously suggested that the elderly have a "duty to die." Given Lamm's record of outspoken support for both abortion and euthanasia, his endorsement of Amendment 31 may well have cost the pro-English cause some support from Colorado's pro-life citizens, a not-insignificant population in areas like Colorado Springs, as well as the support of Colorado Republicans generally. Pollster Floyd Ciruli admitted as much to the Washington Times: "Let's face it, this is Dick Lamm telling Republicans to vote for [Amendment 31]. The voters are getting a mixed message." Colorado voters, even as they voted for bilingual education, reelected Republican Senator Wayne Allard. Allard voted against quadrupling bilingual education funding in 2001, while his opponent, Democrat Tom Strickland, was a public opponent of Amendment 31. — Jim Boulet, Jr. is executive director of English First. |
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lection
night brought a surprise on the bilingual-education front. Conservative
Colorado rejected an anti-bilingual-education initiative, 
