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Surprise in the States ELPAC is a federal political action committee, but traditionally some of the most important elections have been on state ballots. 2002 was no different. Traditionally, English-language protection has been seen as a "conservative" issue. Results from state initiative ballots in 2002, however, showed that the "conservative" label is a myth. Conservative Colorado voters rejected an English-immersion initiative after a barrage of misleading and racist ads threatened to create "chaos in the classroom" by putting minority children into English-language classrooms. Liberal Massachusetts voters, led by language minority voters, overwhelmingly adopted the same initiative, reversing decades of bilingual education failures in the first state to embrace "native language instruction." Two new governors, both Republicans, offer hope for English-language legislation on the state level. In Massachusetts, incoming Governor Mitt Romney embraced the bilingual education initiative, and can be expected to assist in the implementation of that initiative. In Maryland, Republican Bob Ehrlich upset Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; Maryland's legislature has passed Official English legislation that was vetoed by former Gov. Parris Glendening. Observers are hoping that Ehrlich will be more receptive if the Maryland Legislature passes another Official English bill. ELPAC supported Ehrlich over Townsend. Even "down ballot," there were surprises. In Arizona, Tom Horne was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction in a campaign which featured bilingual education reform as its centerpiece. In 2000, Arizona's voters enacted an initiative requiring English language instruction but the educational institutions in the state fought against implementation. Horne argued that the voters had spoken and English language instruction should be implemented. The voters agreed with Horne. Expect to see more from Tom Horne in the future. |
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The
ELPAC Report 