|
 epublicans
who once daydreamed of defeating California Gov. Gray Davis this
year over those rolling blackouts that aren't happening anymore
have just been handed a fantastic new issue to use against the Democrat
incumbent — but only if they're willing to set aside their
fear of criticizing the bilingual-education establishment.
In 1998, California
voters approved Proposition 227, the initiative that effectively
ended bilingual education in the state. Under the plan, sponsored
by Ron K. Unz, kids who didn't know English very well would have
to learn it in the classroom, rather than spend several years receiving
native-language instruction that failed to prepare them for life
in the United States. Test scores tell an amazing story of success.
In 1998, 21 percent of Hispanic students ranked at the 50th percentile
or higher for reading and 27 percent managed the same for math.
In 2001, these figures jumped to 35 percent and 46 percent, respectively
— an enormous and encouraging improvement. (For more detail,
go
here.)
Now the state
board of education, dominated by Davis appointees, would gut Prop.
227. Under current law, kids can get out of English-language classes
only if their parents sign waivers. The state board, however, would
give teachers the same authority. It would also delete the provision
requiring that children spend the first month of each school year
in English classrooms.
In short, the
bilingual-ed establishment would have limited-English children back
in its clutches, where it would condemn them to a mis-education
lasting for years — and with consequences lasting for lifetimes.
"The combination of these two changes would essentially reestablish
California's system of bilingual education for 1.5 million immigrant
students," wrote Unz in an e-mail last week.
Davis opposed
Prop. 227 when he was running for governor in 1998. But so did just
about every politician in the state, including Republican nominee
Dan Lungren. The only prominent figure to support it was Los Angeles
mayor Dick Riordan, who is now a Republican candidate for governor.
Conservatives may have plenty of complaints about Riordan, but in
this instance he acted bravely and rightly on a matter of crucial
importance.
Riordan should
now use this issue against Davis aggressively, and so should his
GOP primary opponents, Bill Jones and Bill Simon. There are two
possible outcomes, both of them good. The first is that the state
board will back away from its proposal — a very real possibility
given that Davis himself has blocked legislative efforts to undo
parts of Prop. 227, perhaps realizing that he must uphold the will
of the voters. (Prop. 227 passed with 61 percent support.) If this
doesn't happen, however, Davis's Republican opponent will have a
marvelous issue to use for months.
For Your Reading Pleasure
Unz is keeping close track of this story on his website,
and he provides plenty of links. Two of the best stories on this
controversy include Michael Barone's online-only column for U.S.
News & World Report and Dan Walters' recent piece in
the Sacramento
Bee.
|
