NEW YORK TIMES

July 29, 1998

Calif. May Still Have Bilingual Ed

By The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A little-known aspect of state law may allow school districts to set up alternative schools for children with limited English skills, circumventing a sweeping bilingual education ban approved by voters last month.

Two requests for such schools are before state Superintendent Delaine Eastin, who has the authority to waive the ban and most other state education laws on a case-by-case basis for ``alternative'' and ``magnet'' schools.

``We are ready to move into the next stage, the decision-making stage. The precedent is about to be set,'' Lynn Hartzler, an Education Department official who has examined the requests, said Tuesday.

Voters approved a proposition that essentially dismantles bilingual education in California's public schools. A federal judge upheld the law, making it effective for semesters starting after Aug. 2, when existing bilingual programs must be replaced by ``English immersion'' classes.

But the language of the initiative approved by 61 percent of voters failed to limit the state's authority to exempt alternative schools, Hartzler said.

``Since 1976 when the (alternative schools) law was enacted, there has always existed a provision for waiving virtually any section of the state education code and regulations,'' Hartzler said.

The proposition's campaign spokeswoman, Sheri Annis, said her group believes a waiver to get around Proposition 227 would be illegal.

``If she's talking about granting a waiver for one program, she can certainly undercut the whole initiative,'' Annis said. ``If in fact this provision exists, for Delaine Eastin to simply override a law, she should tread lightly. Because I think most Californians will be outraged by such arrogance.''

Hartzler wouldn't predict how Eastin will act on the requests by the Capistrano and Saddleback Valley districts in Orange County to get waivers for their ``dual immersion'' programs. The schools would include both English and Spanish speakers, and each group would be taught some core subjects in their non-native language.

But Doreen Lohnes, who is pursuing the request for Capistrano, said every state official she's worked with has been positive.

``It's not an effort to skirt (the new law) at all because it's not a program offered generically for everybody -- it's for those parents who wish to involve themselves in it,'' Lohnes said.

The school in Las Palmas would enroll 324 children, a fraction of the 5,100 children in the Capistrano district who have limited English proficiency. The Saddleback Valley school, in Lake Forest, would enroll 334.