Big Lie #3
Bilingual programs are really monolingual programs taught in students' native language

"Too often, young immigrant children are taught little or no English — in Los Angeles, only 30 minutes a day, according to the school district's longstanding bilingual master plan." — Ron Unz, Los Angeles Times, 19 October 1997

This is sheer fabrication. The Los Angeles Master Plan for English Learners features the following mix of languages in bilingual education programs:

"Initially, primary language instruction is provided for 70% of the day and English language development is provided for 30% of the day. The use of the primary language decreases until the fifth year, when all English programs of instruction are provided for these students."

Depending on student needs and district resources, LA schools provide either bilingual instruction or alternative programs taught mainly in English, sometimes including native-language support from teacher aides. But whatever the approach, "English language development is the primary goal," explains Carmen Schroeder, the assistant superintendent in charge of the program (Presentation to California Senate Select Committee on Bilingual Education, 2 December 1997).

Los Angeles is hardly unusual in teaching English from children's first day of school and increasing the amount of English as their comprehension increases. A recent evaluation of the neighboring Santa Ana Unified School district found that, by the 3rd grade, English learners were doing 75% of their work in the second language in demanding subjects such as math, science, and social studies (Mitchell et al. 1997).

The same pattern holds nationwide. According to the U.S. Department of Education, recent studies conducted by the National Research Council found that "in transitional bilingual education classrooms, English was used 65.8% of the time in Kindergarten, 69.1% in Grade 1, 74.5% in Grade 2, 80.3% in Grade 3, and 97.3% in Grade 4."