[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 41 (Thursday, April 2, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E585-E586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REFORMING BILINGUAL EDUCATION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. FRANK RIGGS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 1, 1998

  Mr. RIGGS. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation to reform 
the federal bilingual education program to insure its primary focus is 
on teaching children English.
  English is our official common and commercial language. Our goal 
should be that every child in America entering Kindergarten will be 
able to read and write English by the end of the First Grade. Other 
students should be expected to master English within two academic 
years.
  Over the past few years, there has been a growing amount of evidence 
that bilingual education classes--those using a child's native language 
in instruction--are having a harmful impact on our Nation's English 
language

[[Page E586]]

learners. While they may work for some children, other children spend 
years isolated in classes that do little to prepare them for future 
success.
  I am concerned that the current federal Bilingual Education Act 
requires 75 percent of available funds to be used for this form of 
instruction. My bill would change all of this. First, it would turn the 
Bilingual Education Act into a formula grant to the States and allow 
the States to determine the method of instruction to be used by 
eligible entities receiving grant awards.
  Of equal importance, this legislation would require that a parent 
must sign a consent form prior to the time a child is placed in a 
program using native language instruction. We are hearing more and more 
reports that schools are ignoring the wishes of parents regarding the 
participation of their children in bilingual education classes. For 
example, it took Erika Velasquez two years to have her son, who is 
fluent in both English and Spanish, removed from a class for Spanish 
speakers. While intentions may have been good, his elementary school 
was preventing her son, Tony, from mainstreaming into a regular 
classroom and confusing him as to what language he was to be using.
  Mr. Speaker, the success of every new wave of immigrants coming to 
the United States in search of the American dream has always been 
dependent on several factors: their willingness to work hard; their 
ability to mainstream into society; and, most importantly, their 
ability to learn the English language.
  It is generally easier to help adult learners because they have 
already completed their basic education and only need to learn English 
to continue their schooling or obtain a job. For children, it is a 
different story. If they come to our country when they are ready to 
enter school, the have twelve years of education before them. For these 
children, much of their ability to succeed in school is dependent on 
their ability to read, write, speak, and think in English. However, as 
I mentioned earlier, many children are not learning English.
  Are these children being taught English? Yes, but, unfortunately, 
English language instruction is limited and they end up spending far 
too many years in classes which preserve their native language to the 
detriment of learning English. This prevents them from mainstreaming 
into society, from communicating with their peers and from learning the 
skills they need to be successful once they leave school.
  Proponents of bilingual education will claim this form of instruction 
is necessary to keep children current in their other academic classes 
while learning English so they don't fall too far behind and end up 
dropping out. However, statistics reveal that nationally over one-third 
of Hispanic students do not complete high school. This figure jumps to 
50 percent in my own Sate of California. Simply, these programs are 
failing to give children the skills they need to stay in school and 
succeed. And our children deserve better.
  The parents of these children did not bring them to our country to be 
relegated to low paying jobs. They brought them here to have the same 
opportunity for success as all other children. They want for their 
children the opportunity for them to become doctors, lawyers, teachers 
or whatever else they want to be.
  It is view that the major focus of any class for limited English 
speaking children should be the attainment of the English language 
skills they need to mainstream into regular classrooms as soon as 
possible. While bilingual education may work for some children, it has 
not proven itself to be the most effective solution for all children.
  It is time that we allow States and local schools and parents the 
right to select the method of English language instruction most 
appropriate for their children. This legislation will accomplish this 
goal.
  Mr. Speaker, as Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Early 
Childhood, Youth and Families, I intend to make this legislation a 
priority. I urge my colleagues to support my bill--the English Language 
Fluency Act--and insure that all English language learners obtain the 
skills they need to succeed.

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