Ruling on Bilingual Ban Limits Waivers Parents

A state appeals court tightened California’s voter-approved ban on bilingual education Monday, ruling that only parents, not entire school districts, can ask for exemptions from the law.

Proposition 227, which passed with 61% support and took effect last year, requires students to be taught “overwhelmingly” in English.

But it allows parents and students to seek waivers that would allow them to remain in bilingual classes and learn some subjects in their native language if their teachers and schools approve. To qualify, the students must be older than 10 or have special needs.

In a lawsuit by the Oakland, Berkeley and Hayward districts, Alameda County Judge Henry Needham ruled last year that the state board must consider districtwide requests for Proposition 227 waivers.

Then-Gov. Pete Wilson said the decision could “eviscerate” the law.

The 1st District Court of Appeal disagreed with Needham, ruling 3-0 on Monday that the intent of Proposition 227 was “that English instruction will be provided in all cases except those where parental waivers are made.”

A long-standing California law allows the state Board of Education to waive virtually any statewide educational law at a district’s request. But the appeals court said the proposition could not be reconciled with such waivers.

Laura Schulkind, a lawyer for the districts seeking waivers, said the ruling is “not good for kids.

“We . . . question the wisdom of making complex educational policy through an initiative process where the electorate can be misinformed through ballot statements,” she said.