The proposed curriculum consisted of bilingual educational materials for children of Spanish descent, and the State Department of Education was to be responsible for developing texts and materials for English-speaking students. The bill proposed mandatory bilingual education in all school districts having fifty percent or more Hispano children. The districts having less than fifty percent enrollment could implement the program through joint petition from teachers and parents. It quickly passed the House of Representatives, but it was held up for weeks in the Senate.
The bilingual education bill passed the Senate at the last minute, but it bore little resemblance to the original bill. The proposed "examining board" had been eliminated completely and bilingual education would be voluntary, its implementation dependent on the discretion of local boards of education. The Republican Senate had given the people a different package from the one they bargained for. Hispanos in the legislature had a majority for the first time in many years and could have dictated the legislation they wanted.
Bilingual Education Bill 1915;
The proposed curriculum consisted of bilingual educational materials for children of Spanish descent, and the State Department of Education was to be responsible for developing texts and materials for English-speaking students. The bill proposed mandatory bilingual education in all school districts having fifty percent or more Hispano children. The districts having less than fifty percent enrollment could implement the program through joint petition from teachers and parents. It quickly passed the House of Representatives, but it was held up for weeks in the Senate.
The bilingual education bill passed the Senate at the last minute, but it bore little resemblance to the original bill. The proposed "examining board" had been eliminated completely and bilingual education would be voluntary, its implementation dependent on the discretion of local boards of education. The Republican Senate had given the people a different package from the one they bargained for. Hispanos in the legislature had a majority for the first time in many years and could have dictated the legislation they wanted.