CA Senate Supports Asking Voters to Repeal Ban on Bilingual Education

The state Senate voted Tuesday to ask California voters to repeal a ban on bilingual education in the state, saying children in other countries are successfully learning multiple languages.

The senate voted to put a measure on the ballot in November 2016 that would repeal major parts of Proposition 227, the 1998 ballot measure approved by voters that requires schools to teach in English.

“Children who participate in multilingual programs not only outperform their peers, they also have higher earning potential when they enter the workforce,” said Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), who authored SB 1174. The bill was approved 27 to 8 and next goes to the Assembly for consideration.

He called the status quo “linguistic tyranny, where we [politicians] decide what language our kids are going to learn.”

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