The Willow Glen Resident

School officials, parents meet to define Prop. 227

The state Board of Education will hold its own public hearing

By Sharon Parks

Even as the San Jose Unified School District moves toward applying for a waiver from Proposition 227, district officials are trying to figure out exactly how to implement the new anti-bilingual law should their request be denied.

To this end, representatives from the SJUSD attended a community meeting on Sept. 4 to discuss the impact of Prop. 227 and to try to sort through the language of the law, which some say is vague and poorly written.

The group Education For All Children sponsored the meeting, held at San Jose High Academy. About 50 parents, teachers and staff from the San Jose Unified, Franklin-McKinley and Alum Rock school districts braved sweltering temperatures to attend.

Under Prop. 227, California schools must provide instruction "overwhelmingly" in English. The focus of the meeting, which was conducted in both Spanish and English, was to try to define just what constitutes "overwhelming."

Representatives from each district had their own definitions of the term: The SJUSD would consider providing 70 percent of its instruction in English and 30 percent in Spanish to be in compliance with the law, while Franklin-McKinley proposed a 60-40 split. On the advice of their attorneys, representatives from Alum Rock declined to offer a percentage breakdown.

While school districts may have their own ideas on the subject, the state Board of Education is set to start defining the terms of Prop. 227 at a Sept. 10 hearing, where the board will also consider requests from districts that have already applied for waivers in order to maintain their bilingual programs. But organizers of last Friday's meeting said community input is an important part of this process.

"There is a big push to get as many parents as possible to voice their opinions in Sacramento," attorney Maria Blanco told those assembled. "The state will decide to accept district waivers or deny them. If [the waivers are] denied, we will build a case for bilingual education."

According to Maria Ferrer, a member of the Santa Clara County Board of Education, the meeting was intended to help parents interpret Prop. 227 and understand what options they have.

"Proposition 227 is a complicated issue and is so badly written," Ferrer said. "It is very vague and broad."

Approved in June by California voters, Prop. 227 is in direct conflict with the SJUSD's court-mandated desegregation, the result of a 1971 federal class-action suit brought by Latino parents. The court order states that the SJUSD must provide instruction in Spanish in order to assure achievement by Latino students.

Last month, a U.S. district court ordered the SJUSD to continue its bilingual instruction in Spanish through Nov. 13. This gives the district a temporary exemption from Prop 227.

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