Like It or Not, 227 Is Law

Barring a successful legal challenge, Proposition 227--the English Language in Public Schools Initiative, overwhelmingly approved in Tuesday’s election--has become the law governing the education of every limited-English student in California. The Los Angeles Unified School District and others in the state must have one-year English immersion programs ready to implement in 60 days.

There are a lot of questions to answer. What will be the curriculum? The teaching methods? What books and other resources are needed? Under what circumstances will parents be permitted to seek waivers that would allow their children to opt for bilingual classes? How are teachers to be held accountable?

The LAUSD, as usual, is moving slowly. A statement from Supt. Ruben Zacarias said Wednesday that the district is developing a plan to comply with 227 “as best as we understand it.” The plan will be influenced by forthcoming guidelines from the State Board of Education, which already has said it will reject requests for districtwide waivers.

The LAUSD has not determined what, if any, litigation it might undertake. The San Francisco Board of Education has voted unanimously to oppose implementation of 227 through all legal and legislative channels.

Some teachers are now threatening to sabotage or merely ignore 227, but however well intentioned, teachers cannot simply close the classroom door in the face of the new law. This newspaper opposed the measure because of its inflexibility, but few educators in this state would argue that the current hodgepodge system should be perpetuated. Passage of 227 had been forecast for months, time enough for school districts, principals and teachers to start preparing for this educational revolution. Instead of counting on court challenges to delay implementation, they need to vigorously plan for meeting the requirements of the law. If administrators miss the boat again, students will pay the price.

The other education-related measure on the ballot was Proposition 223, which would have ordered every school district, regardless of size or needs, to spend no more than a nickel of every dollar on administration and put the rest into classroom or campus expenses. Voters wisely rejected 223, which, though aimed at LAUSD spending, could have caused bureaucratic chaos and perhaps damaged small districts. But the LAUSD should not assume that the defeat means voters across California are satisfied with the status quo. More likely voters elsewhere simply wanted their districts to avoid going down with the mammoth LAUSD.

The other widely tracked initiative, Proposition 226, was an effort led by conservatives to weaken organized labor’s political clout. The initiative would have required employers and labor unions to obtain an employee’s permission yearly before withholding wages or using union dues for political contributions. It was to be a bellwether political issue--about 30 other states have similar paycheck protection efforts--for Republicans, including Gov. Pete Wilson, who backed the measure. The defeat of 226 is resonating widely. Once again, California, for good or ill, leads the national political agenda.