Parents who want a waiver must apply for one every school year. But schools
are not required to offer the alternative courses unless there are 20 or
more students in one grade level who receive a waiver.
Bilingual advocates were pushing to allow teachers and school administrators
 

to apply for the waiver on behalf of the parent.
"At one point the regulations said . . . educational staff could initiate a
waiver request or recommend it to a parent or guardian," said Phil Garcia,
spokesman for the board.
But Ron Unz, author of the initiative, argued that the practice would
violate the law and threatened to sue the board.

"That was completely illegal and contrary to the clear language of the
initiative," Unz said.

The board decided to delete the section of the rules that would have allowed
teachers to initiate the application process. Board members also dropped a
provision that would have required students to go through a 30-day English
assessment period only once instead of every year before transferring to
bilingual programs.
That's the current practice but bilingual advocates wanted the board to
include it in the rules to clearly state that students should only have to
go through the assessment once.

Proponents of Proposition 227 said the students should be required to go
through the assessment every school year.
Unz again threatened to sue and the board omitted any reference to the
assessment period.
Estrada said the watered-down regulations do little to protect students or a
parent's right to obtain a waiver.

Estrada also said that the board's decision to avoid addressing the
assessment period could become a source of contention.
Copyright 2002 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.