| Arizona Proposition 203 |
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Information AboutArizona Proposition 203 |
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Proposition 203 is also known as the Unz initiative, named after its financial supporter Ron Unz . Unz a wealthy chairman of a financial services software company from California. Unz was successful in promoting a very similar proposition ( Proposition 227 ) in California so he decided to conduct similar campaigns in Arizona , Massachusetts , and Colorado . However, he was unsuccessful in Colorado. Unz's goal was to replace bilingual education with English immersion programs. THE TEXT OF PROPOSITION 203 The actual text of the legislation begins with a series of declarations that state the importance of English and learning English. It states that immigrant parents want their children to learn English and become fluent bilinguals and he asserts that the government and schools have a moral responsibility to teach it. It continues to say that public schools do not do a satisfactory job educating ELL's and immigrant children, but blames "costly bilingual education programs." It then examines the psycholinguistic dimension of bilingualism by saying that young immigrant children have the ability to quickly learn a second language. However, it does not take into account that children who do not acquire literacy in their first language are likely to have reading difficulties in English (or other second language). The resolution states that "all children in Arizona public schools shall be taught English as rapidly and efficiently as possible." ELL 's should be educated in immersion programs during a temporary transition period which should be no longer than a year (a school year of 180 days). Parents may request for their children to be exempt if it can be determined that the child already knows English, the child is ten years old or older, or is identified as having special needs. However, for children claiming to have special needs, it must be confirmed that education in English is not the best option for the child. IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPOSITION 203 Implementation of the policy occurred in the beginning of the 2001-2002 school year. There was widespread confusion throughout the state because of the ambiguous language used in the text of the proposition. Following the implementation, many schools changed their approach to educating ELL's, but many districts obtained waivers for their ELL studets and continued their bilingual education programs. RELATED LINKS REFERENCE Wright, A.E. (2005). The political spectacle of Arizona's Proposition 203. ''Educational Policy, 19'',662-700. |
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