Local News in Brief : English Classes Sought
In an attempt to force the Los Angeles Unified School District to sharply expand its offering of English classes for foreign-born residents, the Western Center on Law and Poverty filed a suit Wednesday accusing the district of failing to comply with state law by keeping an estimated 21,000 people on waiting lists.
The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit asks the court to issue an injunction requiring the district to shift more money to adult school courses in English as a second language (ESL).
Carmen Estrada, a center attorney, said state legislation passed in the 1920s gave citizenship classes for immigrants a special priority that the district has refused to acknowledge.
District spokesman Bill Rivera said the school system, which depends on state funds, cannot afford to do more and is hamstrung by a 1979 law limiting the growth of adult ESL programs statewide to 2% a year. The district’s ESL courses were attended by 208,000 people during the 1986-87 academic year.
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