Texas sued over ESL, bilingual programs

[Harold F. Schiffman]

>>From www.news8austin.com

Texas sued over ESL, bilingual programs
Updated: 2/10/2006 11:29:21 AM
By: Associated Press

TYLER, Texas -- Hispanic rights groups want Texas to improve supervision
over English as a second language'' and bilingual education programs.
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Multicultural
Training, Education and Advocacy sued the state in a Tyler federal suit on
Thursday. The lawsuit seeks to keep students still learning English from
lagging behind other students.

It contends Texas has failed for years to oversee the programs
appropriately. It said that's left thousands of children with limited
English skills to fail exit tests, drop out or be held back. The lawsuit
asks for a court order that the Texas Education Agency establish a system
to monitor students who are learning English. It also asks the TEA to
monitor bilingual and ESL programs on-site, ensure student access to the
programs and ensure instruction offered is appropriate. The lawsuit was
filed on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens and the GI
Forum. A TEA spokeswoman said the agency hasn't seen the lawsuit.


Copyright 2006 Associated Press,

Copyright  2006 TWEAN d.b.a. News 8 Austin
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