BILINGUAL EDUCATION ACT

WHEREAS, the American Federation of Teachers has been in the forefront of the struggle to provide proper educational services for non-English speaking children; and

WHEREAS, the major purpose of bilingual education is to provide a transition for children who speak little or no English, thereby enabling them to continue to learn in their native language while at the same time achieving fluency in the English language as quickly as possible; and

WHEREAS, another important purpose of bilingual education is to encourage pride in one's ethnic heritage and to maintain a pupil's fluency in his/her native language:

RESOLVED, that the AFT shall seek to modify the Bilingual Education Act to effectuate the following:

• To support the establishment of transitional programs whose purpose will be to utilize the native language until the child can function in English.

• Require parental consent in order to enter bilingual programs.

• Assess the child's language ability annually through the use of valid, reliable assessment instruments, to the end that the pupil may be placed in a regular program as soon as possible.

• Provide continued funding for bilingual training programs. Currently 15 percent of bilingual funds must be allocated to teacher training. The training funds should continue to be made available in order that not only bilingual teachers may have the advantage of training opportunities, but non-bilingual teachers as well as supportive personnel may be given training opportunities to permit them to learn to function on a bilingual basis if they so desire.