Texas school districts to fix bilingual ed

NEW ORLEANS, March 24 (UPI) -- A 40-year-old lawsuit is on its way to resolution with a ruling that local Texas school districts must provide adequate programs for bilingual students.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday the wide gap between students with limited English proficiency and the greater student population in standardized test scores is the problem not of the state, but of the individual districts, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

The ruling, though, allowed for the state to be found liable in lawsuits against specific school districts.

It will not be difficult to document that individual Texas school districts are poorly serving their English-language learners, said David Hinojosa, a staff attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, representing the League of United Latin American Citizens and the American GI Forum.

Almost all Texas school districts were still subject to a federal order that was to do away with a policy that segregated black and white students, David Anderson, general counsel for the Texas Education Agency, said.

The Hispanic civil rights groups joined the original suit in 1972 and redirected the case in 2006 when they said the state was not helping students overcome language barriers.

Almost all Texas middle schools and high schools programs provide non-English speakers assistance for 45 minutes a day. For the rest of the day, they are in English-only classes, he said.

"The students can succeed with a comprehensive, well-funded program," Hinojosa said, adding that such a program has not been fostered by the state.