Fw: A washingtonpost.com article: Spanish At School Translates to Suspension

Thu Dec 15 14:29:43 UTC 2005

----- Original Message -----
 Spanish At School Translates to Suspension

 By T.R. Reid

  KANSAS CITY, Kan., Dec. 8 -- Most of the time, 16-year-old Zach Rubio 
converses in clear, unaccented American teen-speak, a form of English in 
which the three most common words are "like," "whatever" and "totally." But 
Zach is also fluent in his dad's native language, Spanish -- and that's what 
got him suspended from school.

 "It was, like, totally not in the classroom," the high school junior said, 
recalling the infraction. "We were in the, like, hall or whatever, on 
restroom break. This kid I know, he's like, 'Me prestas un dolar?' ['Will 
you lend me a dollar?'] Well, he asked in Spanish; it just seemed natural to 
answer that way. So I'm like, 'No problema.' "

 But that conversation turned out to be a big problem for the staff at the 
Endeavor Alternative School, a small public high school in an ethnically 
mixed blue-collar neighborhood. A teacher who overheard the two boys sent 
Zach to the office, where Principal Jennifer Watts ordered him to call his 
father and leave the school.

 Watts, whom students describe as a disciplinarian, said she can't discuss 
the case. But in a written "discipline referral" explaining her decision to 
suspend Zach for 1 1/2 days, she noted: "This is not the first time we have 
[asked] Zach and others to not speak Spanish at school."

 Since then, the suspension of Zach Rubio has become the talk of the town in 
both English and Spanish newspapers and radio shows. The school district has 
officially rescinded his punishment and said that speaking a foreign 
language is not grounds for suspension. Meanwhile, the Rubio family has 
retained a lawyer, who says a civil rights lawsuit may be in the offing.

 The tension here surrounding that brief exchange in a high school hall 
reflects a broader national debate over the language Americans should speak 
amid a wave of Hispanic immigration.

 The National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group, says that 20 
percent of the U.S. school-age population is Latino. For half of those 
Latino students, the native language is Spanish.

 Conflicts are bursting out nationwide over bilingual education, 
"English-only" laws, Spanish-language publications and advertising, and 
other linguistic collisions. Language concerns have been a key aspect of the 
growing political movement to reduce immigration.

 "There's a lot of backlash against the increasing Hispanic population," 
said D.C. school board member Victor A. Reinoso. "We've seen some of it in 
the D.C. schools. You see it in some cities, where people complain that 
their tax money shouldn't be used to print public notices in Spanish. And 
there have been cases where schools want to ban foreign languages."

 Some advocates of an English-only policy in U.S. schools say that it is 
particularly important for students from immigrant families to use the 
nation's dominant language.

 California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) made that point this summer when 
he vetoed a bill authorizing various academic subjects to be tested in 
Spanish in the state's public schools. "As an immigrant," the Austrian-born 
governor said, "I know the importance of mastering English as quickly and as 
comprehensively as possible."

 Hispanic groups generally agree with that, but they emphasize the value of 
a multilingual citizenry. "A fully bilingual young man like Zach Rubio 
should be considered an asset to the community," said Janet Murguia, 
national president of La Raza.

 The influx of immigrants has reached every corner of the country -- even 
here in Kansas City, which is about as far as a U.S. town can be from a 
border. Along Southwest Boulevard, a main street through some of the older 
neighborhoods, there are blocks where almost every shop and restaurant has 
signs written in Spanish.

 "Most people, they don't care where you're from," said Zach's father, 
Lorenzo Rubio, a native of Veracruz, Mexico, who has lived in Kansas City 
for a quarter-century. "But sometimes, when they hear my accent, I get this, 
sort of, 'Why don't you go back home?' "

 Rubio, a U.S. citizen, credits U.S. immigration law for his decision to 
fight his son's suspension.

 "You can't just walk in and become a citizen," he said. "They make you take 
this government test. I studied for that test, and I learned that in 
America, they can't punish you unless you violate a written policy."

 Rubio said he remembered that lesson on Nov. 28, when he received a call 
from Endeavor Alternative saying his son had been suspended.

 "So I went to the principal and said, 'My son, he's not suspended for 
fighting, right? He's not suspended for disrespecting anyone. He's suspended 
for speaking Spanish in the hall?' So I asked her to show me the written 
policy about that. But they didn't have" one.

 Rubio then called the superintendent of the Turner Unified School District, 
which operates the school. The district immediately rescinded Zach's 
suspension, local media reported. The superintendent did not respond to 
several requests to comment for this article.

 Since then, the issue of speaking Spanish in the hall has not been raised 
at the school, Zach said. "I know it would be, like, disruptive if I 
answered in Spanish in the classroom. I totally don't do that. But outside 
of class now, the teachers are like, 'Whatever.' "

 For Zach's father, and for the Hispanic organizations that have expressed 
concern, the suspension is not a closed case. "Obviously they've violated 
his civil rights," said Chuck Chionuma, a lawyer in Kansas City, Mo., who is 
representing the Rubio family. "We're studying what form of legal redress 
will correct the situation."

 Said Rubio: "I'm mainly doing this for other Mexican families, where the 
legal status is kind of shaky and they are afraid to speak up. Punished for 
speaking Spanish? Somebody has to stand up and say: This is wrong."

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