Washington, DC (July 26, 2006) – Today, Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15) attended a hearing on “Examining Views on English as the Official Language,” held by the Subcommittee on Education Reform.  During the hearing, Hinojosa expressed concern at the Subcommittee’s lack of attention on the success of limited English proficient students.

At the request of Reps. Hinojosa, George Miller (D-CA), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), the Government Accountability Office released a report, “Assistance from Education Could Better Measure Progress of Students with Limited English Proficiency,” which shows that students of limited English proficiency are not faring as well as their peers in reading, math, and science.

The GAO report raised concerns that many states are not administering valid and reliable reading, math, and science assessments to students of limited English proficiency. Moreover, states still have not developed assessments to measure students’ progress towards achieving English language proficiency, which is required by No Child Left Behind.

Below are Congressman Hinojosa’s remarks, prepared for delivery, from today’s hearing:
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“Mr. Chairman, before I ask my questions, I would like to make a statement for the record.

“I must express my deep disappointment in these proceedings.  First, this hearing is part of a concerted effort by the House majority to derail comprehensive immigration reform and fan the flames of anti-immigrant sentiment before the election.  No matter how many hearings we hold, the public will not be fooled.  The majority is at the helm of all of our branches of government.  Failure to fix our broken immigration system is the majority’s failure to govern.

“Second, while I do not question the chairman’s intention to have a “balanced” hearing.  Let’s be clear.  We can no more have a balanced hearing on “English as the official language” than we can have  one on “states rights” or “separate but equal.”  English as the official language has been a code for official discrimination.  I understand the personal effects of such policies and sentiments.  In my home state, children would be punished and beaten for speaking Spanish in school.  For those who think this is past history, sadly, it is not.  Not too long ago, a high school student in Kansas was suspended from school for speaking Spanish to his friend in the hallway.  Surely, these are not the practices we want to sanction with a policy of English as the official language.

“Finally, instead of focusing on an issue that divides us, the subcommittee should be looking at how we help our children learn English.  The GAO has just released a report on the implementation of the accountability provisions in No Child Left Behind and limited English proficient students.  I ask unanimous consent that the report be entered into the record.  The report finds that we are a long way off from including LEP children in our accountability systems in a valid and reliable manner and that the Department has not provided the guidance, technical assistance, or enforcement necessary to ensure that states are meeting the requirements of the law.