For the second year in a row, Arizona’s public education advocates have been fighting to reform bilingual education. State Senator Joe Eddie Lopez is leading that fight. Although his bilingual education bill was killed in a Senate Committee earlier in the session, Arizona is under court order to address this issue. And Lopez will continue to fight for Arizona’s children by providing innovative solutions to Arizona’s failing bilingual education program.
"It’s time for the Legislature to take a serious look at improving the quality of English language instruction for the children of Arizona," states Lopez. Senate Bill 1242 would have increased funding, improved program quality, increased the number of bilingual and ESL (English as a Second Language) endorsed teachers and provided for program accountability.
Using Arizona’s court order as leverage, Lopez will continue his attempts to increase the quality and accountability of bilingual education and ESL programs through several classroom level
reforms. Bilingual education should require programs to be taught by teachers who have received
specialized training in bilingual and ESL instruction. Tuition assistance and distance learning programs would support these efforts.
"My objective is to ensure quality by setting standards for bilingual and ESL programs that are equal to those for native English speakers. I want schools to identify our children who are not meeting these high standards and provide them with the additional help they’ll need to succeed in school," said Lopez.
Lopez, now in his ninth year in the legislature, is active in CPA’s Southwest Regional Policy
Forum. He is dedicated to improving the status of minority workers through grassroots involvement. He is also committed to enriching the lives of young people, both through school involvement and
neighborhood organizations such as the Barrio Youth Project.
