JUNE

The number 227 joined the list of state ballot propositions that have touched deep nerves. This time the issue was whether to all but eliminate bilingual education in public schools--the latest example of the California public going where its lawmakers and policymakers feared to tread. But many of the policymakers opposed the measure--as did these student protesters at Belmont High School--and they may yet triumph: While Proposition 227 survived the early court challenges that have derailed many other propositions, school districts around the state have let thousands of students take advantage of a loophole in the ban and remain in bilingual classes.