Speaking Spanish on the school bus
This news release from the ACLU made me shake my head.
In response to an ACLU complaint, Nevada's Esmeralda County School District has lifted a ban prohibiting students from speaking Spanish on the school bus. The ban was approved by the Esmeralda County school board in October.
According to the press release, the Spanish ban directly impacted about a dozen high school students from a small farming and ranching community who ride the bus an hour and a half each way to a school in a neighboring county. In the afternoons, there is a 45-minute academic period on the bus, during which time the students are expected to speak English. The second 45 minutes is supposed to be free time.
A letter from the school superintendent, posted on the ACLU's Web site, says students are still required to speak in English to the bus driver and to the tutor aboard the bus.
Categories: Around the Nation, School Diversity/Segregation
Comments
Better to finally get it right than to slog out a fruitless battle.
I understand the rationale behind the original decision (though my understanding doesn't make the case any stronger), but it was born of fear and misunderstanding. It looks like they got it right the second time around, which is an improvement over "not at all".
Posted by: steegness | February 26, 2008 9:41 PM