It took a thousand soldiers and a Supreme Court decision to strike down the policy of "separate but equal" (which in practice was always separate and never equal), but thanks to that effort, educational bureaucrats in this day and age do not have the power to separate students by race and ethnic origin.

Or do they?

Children who come from homes where a language other than English is spoken are often segregated from the rest of the student body into "bilingual" programs, which teach most subjects in a student’s native language. In theory, such programs allow students to keep up with their English-speaking peers in subjects like math and history, while rapidly teaching them English so they could integrate into regular classes. In practice, bilingual education programs have not been achieving that objective.

With a fervor that would do the old-style Southern segregationists proud, the bilingual education lobby seems to shout, "Bilingual education now, bilingual education forever!" Many students do seem to be trapped in bilingual classes forever. In 1997 in California (where about forty percent of the nation’s children with limited English proficiency live), only one out of every fifteen students in bilingual education learned enough English to transfer out. And while parents technically have the right to request that their children be moved into English-speaking classes, the bureaucrats block the doorway—seventy immigrant families were forced to boycott a Los Angeles school for two weeks before their children were allowed to take classes in English.

Parents know that the English language is the most important thing their child needs to learn in school. By blocking reform of bilingual education, the educational establishment is denying many children the key to future success: as the foreman on a ranch in Texas so eloquently put it, "My children learn Spanish in school so they can grow up to be busboys and waiters. I teach them English at home so they can grow up to be doctors and lawyers."

Because politicians in California were unwilling to reform bilingual education, the people of California took matters into their own hands. The "English for the Children" initiative (Prop. 227) which passed in June 1998 has cause a great upheaval in California schools by requiring wholesale change from native-language instruction to English instruction.

The lesson the bilingual education establishment should have learned from Prop. 227 is that by opposing moderate reform, they force the opposition toward more radical measures. Instead, they continue to oppose any attempt to reform bilingual education. The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3892, the "English Language Fluency Act," in 1998 over the opposition of groups like the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE).  Unfortunately, the Senate failed to act on the bill before the end of the session.

H.R. 3892 was a moderate reform measure—contrary to the claims of opponents, it did not ban bilingual education. Successful programs of any type would continue to receive funding, (although the bill did place a 3-year limitation on federal funds that can be used for any one student.) The measure required schools to report on the progress of students in learning English, and allows parents the right to withdraw their students from bilingual education.

It is interesting to note that H.R. 3892 was the most moderate reform measure proposed. Another proposal would have cut off all federal funding for bilingual education. U.S.ENGLISH supported the moderate reform bill, not the total ban, because U.S.ENGLISH firmly believes that students of Limited English Proficiency should receive help in learning English. Our goal is to ensure that every student learns English, so they can take advantage of the wonderful opportunities this nation has to offer.

Bilingual education’s supporters, on the other hand, did not propose one single change to improve the current system. In fact, they proposed an amendment to the bill that would have replaced it with the exact wording of the current bilingual education law—"Bilingual education now, bilingual education forever!"

President Clinton is unlikely to send in the Army to ensure that our schools teach English. Teachers need to make sure that students are learning English, no matter what type of program they are in. If students are not learning English, then teachers and educational organizations must support reform measures. Otherwise, they are guilty of blocking the door of opportunity for children of Limited English Proficiency.