U.S. ENGLISH Condemns Override of Massachusetts English Immersion Law

Supports Gov. Romney’s Pledge to Make English Immersion a Campaign Issue

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. ENGLISH, Inc. today condemned the Massachusetts legislators who voted for a loophole in the state’s voter-approved English immersion law. It also supports a pledge by Gov. Mitt Romney to make bilingual education reform an issue in the next legislative elections.

In November, 68 percent of Massachusetts voters approved of “Question 2” which requires students to learn English through immersion rather than through instruction in their native languages. Unable to prevail at the ballot box, opponents of English immersion tried to water down the measure with five bilingual education measures attached to the 2004 state budget. Gov. Romney vetoed these measures but the Massachusetts Legislature narrowly overrode the vetoes.

U.S. ENGLISH, Inc. believes that the greatest gift we can give to newcomers is a strong knowledge of English. A 2000 study by the Department of Education shows that English immersion is more effective in teaching English than instruction in a student’s native tongue. The move by the Massachusetts Legislature not only flouts the will of the people, it harms the chances of immigrants by hampering their ability to learn English. Over eight percent of Massachusetts residents cannot speak English proficiently.

“Once again we see that the will of the people has been ignored,” said Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of U.S. ENGLISH, Inc. “The voters know that English immersion is the best way to teach English but the politicians and special interest groups found a way around this. We urge Massachusetts voters to find out how their representatives voted on this issue and to vote accordingly in the next elections.”

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.