Rejection of California Nominee Hurts English Language Learners

Bilingual Education Advocates Knock Reed Hastings off Board of Education

In a severe blow to California's 1.6 million school-age English Language Learners, the California Senate Rules Committee last week rejected nominee Reed Hastings to a second term on the California Board of Education. The rejection of Hastings, a strong supporter of the public schools and an ardent advocate of English instruction for immigrant students, comes even as studies continue to show the benefits of English immersion in the Golden State.

On Wednesday, the five members of the Senate Rules Committee voted 2-2, with one abstention, to recommend Hastings to a second term. The deadlock denies Hastings a confirmation hearing in front of the full Senate. Critics of Hastings opposed the businessman's support for 2-1/2 hours of English instruction daily for non-English speaking students and his belief that English language tests should be given in English.

"It is a sad day in California's history when legislators vote to turn back the clock on English instruction," said U.S. English Chairman Mauro E. Mujica. "Given the improving test scores by English Language Learners, California's English instruction model was a blueprint for the nation. The opposition to Reed Hastings shows that bilingual education advocates will let nothing stand in the way of their wrongheaded agenda."

Since California voters decided to replace bilingual education with English immersion, the results have been astounding. In the 2003-04 school year, 72 percent more California English language learners in grades K-12 scored at the "advanced" or "early advanced" levels on California English Language Development Test than in the inaugural 2001-02 version. The outstanding improvement, which was recorded at each grade, saw 43 percent of the students reaching the standard, an increase from 25 percent in 2001-02.

The rejection of Hastings was also a roadblock in attempts for more bi-partisan agreement in the Golden State. Hastings, a Democrat, had been appointed by former Democratic Governor Gray Davis in 2000, and re-nominated by current Republican Governor and former English learner Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"For years, we have been asking legislators to work together to face the pressing problem of English language learning," explained Mujica. "The obstruction of Reed Hastings nomination by the Democratic Senate majority shows that we still have a long way to go toward that dream. It's an unfortunate day for all of California's public school students, but even more unfortunate for those looking to learn the language of opportunity — English."

## U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest non-partisan citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. (www.usenglish.org) now has more than 1.8 million members.