Clinton Urges an Alternative to Prop. 227

Acknowledging that bilingual education can be “intellectual purgatory” for some schoolchildren, President Clinton nonetheless argued forcefully against a California initiative to dismantle such programs.

Clinton, in his first public comments on the initiative, said he understood some parents’ concerns that bilingual programs can become a crutch and a hindrance to learning English.

“We need to do right by these kids, and doing right means giving them what they need, but not keeping them trapped in some sort of intellectual purgatory. . . ,” Clinton said at a $25,000-per-couple fund-raiser late Friday.

Residents vote June 2 on Proposition 227, which proposes a one-year course taught mostly in English.