Parents’ Right to Sue Over Prop. 227 Violations Upheld
A federal judge has upheld parents’ rights to sue teachers and school administrators who refuse to implement Proposition 227, the English-only initiative.
A coalition headed by the California Teachers Assn. moved in court to overturn the initiative’s enforcement mechanism, saying that it violated constitutional free speech rights.
In a written order received by lawyers in the case Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Edward M. Rafeedie dismissed the lawsuit.
“Teachers do not have a 1st Amendment right to be free of regulations which tell them to follow a method of instruction or a curriculum,” Rafeedie wrote.
But the judge said that teachers can use another language to communicate with students on the playground, in social situations, in emergencies and the like.
“The court’s decision preserves the spirit and intent behind Proposition 227,” said attorney Sharon L. Browne of the Pacific Legal Foundation in Sacramento, which opposed the teachers’ lawsuit.
Without a means of enforcement, she said, Proposition 227 “is of little value to parents whose children attend school in districts that refuse to comply with the law.”
The California Teachers Assn. said it was reviewing the judge’s order and might consider an appeal.
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