FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Kathy Kim – Communications Director
California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE)
Phone: (626) 814 – 4441 Ext. 105
Fax: (626) 814 - 4640

http://www.bilingualeducation.org / Shelly Spiegel-Coleman – President
Californians Together
Phone: (562) 756-0493
E-mail:
http://www.californianstogether.org

California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) and

Californians Together Retain Counsel to Challenge California’s English Only Assessments of English Learners

COVINA, CA, April 7, 2005 – Joining Coachella Valley Unified School District, the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) and Californians Together jointly retained three major civil rights and education law firms to pursue a lawsuit against the State of California to enforce the provisions of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act pertaining to the academic assessment of English Learners. The objective of this lawsuit is to compel the State of California to assess the academic progress of its English Learners as required by the mandate of NCLB: States must assess limited English proficient students in “a valid and reliable manner” that includes (A) “reasonable accommodations”; and (B) “to the extent practicable, assessments in the language and form most likely to yield accurate data on what such students know and can do in academic content areas, until such students have achieved English language proficiency.”

There are 1.6 million English Learners in California, more than in any other state. It is absolutely critical that the State of California assess English Learners in a valid and reliable manner. “Teachers and schools need valid and reliable information on what students know and can do to make better decisions about how best to educate them,” said Dr. Maria S. Quezada, Executive Director at CABE. California’s accountability system, however, only includes academic tests(grades 2-11)administeredin English that English Learners do not speak or understand. There is no sound educational or legal basis for this practice, yet for years, the California State Board of Education has implemented accountability policies that consistently have an adverse effect against English Learners.

“High-stakes accountability systems are built upon a foundation of meaningful data, stated Dr. Magaly Lavadenz, CABE President, “based upon that data, schools and districts are identified as either successful or underperforming and thus subject to rewards or sanctions.” The two state-wide organizations resorted to the lawsuit after a long history of attempts to create a valid and reliable accountability system that is more sensitive to the language needs of English Learners. Several bills have made it to the desks of three governors and they all have been vetoed. The lawsuit demands that the California State Board of Education, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Legislature and Governor enforce the provisions of NCLB. "What we ask for is nothing less than what federal law requires: a primary language test for those students instructed in that language; an English test constructed so English learners understand the language in the test items if they are in English only settings; and all of this included in the state and federal accountability systems,” said Shelly Spiegel-Coleman, President of Californians Together.

The three law firms jointly retained by CABE and Californians Together are Burke, Williams and Sorensen, LLP, which specializes in education law, and the Law Offices of Hadsell & Stormer, Inc. and Law Offices of Marc Coleman, each specializing in civil rights litigation.

CABE is a non-profit organization that was incorporated in 1976 to promote bilingual education and quality educational experiences for all students in California. CABE has over 5,000 members with over 55 chapters/affiliates, all working to promote educational equity and student achievement for students with diverse cultural, racial, and linguistic backgrounds. CABE recognizes and honors the fact that we live in a rich multicultural, global society and that respect for diversity makes us a stronger state and nation.

Californians Together is a statewide coalition of parents, teachers, education advocates and civil rights groups committed to securing equal access to quality education for all children. It was founded in 1998 as a non-profit organization after the passage of Proposition 227. Californians Together, in conjunction with many of its affiliates, strive to foster full participation in a democratic society through quality education for children and parents from underserved communities.

###