Waivers Sought for Dual-Language Program at School
Trustees in the Capistrano Unified School District recently voted unanimously to submit two waiver requests in an effort to save a popular dual-language immersion program at Las Palmas Elementary School in San Clemente.
The board voted to submit the first waiver to the State Board of Education requesting that the program be able to continue without interruption after the passage of Proposition 227 in June.
“We do not believe the intention of Proposition 227 was to do away with these voluntary foreign language programs,” Supt. James A. Fleming said.
The second request seeks to have the superintendent of public instruction grant “alternative school within a school” status for the program.
According to Doreen Lohnes, assistant superintendent of student services, the Las Palmas program offers students an alternative emphasis on bilingual skills to accompany the traditional curriculum and should be granted the status because it meets the state criteria.
The program teaches 324 students at the school English and Spanish from kindergarten through sixth grade.
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