Thursday, October 13, 2016

California may reverse their ban on bilingual education

Among the 18 ballot measures up for a vote in California this year is one that would reverse the statewide ban on bilingual education:
Bilingual education, particularly for primary school children, has become increasingly popular among native English speakers over the past decade, said Wood. That's primarily because studies have shown that a multilingual brain is nimbler and better able to deal with ambiguities and resolve conflicts. Some research shows multilingual people are even able to resist Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia longer. 
Currently, California is one of four states -- the others are Arizona, Massachusetts and New Hampshire -- with laws constraining the use of bilingual education programs, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Right, Massachusetts.

This last legislative session, as I posted, there was a bill that made it out of committee that would have done just that. A new legislative session means, of course, that we have to start over again in January.
Add it to the list!

No comments: