REFORMA

 10 Reasons Why We Buy Spanish Books
http://www.reforma.org/refogold.htm#Why
Al Milo’s classic position paper from the REFORMA GOLD archives. Al Milo is a former President of Reforma and the Library Director of the Fullerton Public Library in California.

Reforma National Resolution on the Unz Initiative in California
http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol1/LJ_11.html
Approved by the National REFORMA Executive Committee, March 11, 1998. As reported in "Library Juice" newsletter.

Reforma Northeast Chapter
http://reforma-northeast.org/
Includes Northeast Chapter Resolution Against Restricting Language Rights of Latinos and accompanying press release. Also includes other info.

Reforma Orange County Chapter Resolution on California's Anti-Bilingual Education Initiative (AKA
the Unz Initiative)
http://lmri.ucsb.edu/pipermail/reformanet/1998-February/002694.html
Adopted by the Orange County Chapter of REFORMA December 19, 1997, as reported on Reformanet.

OTHER LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS

American Association of School Librarians
http://www.ala.org/aasl/positions/ps_billofrights.html
Access to Resources and Services in the School Library Media Program An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights. "While English is, by history and tradition, the customary language of the United States, the languages in use in any given community may vary. Schools serving communities in which other languages are used make efforts to accommodate the needs of students for whom English is a second language. To support these efforts, and to ensure equal access to resources and services, the school library media program provides resources which reflect the linguistic pluralism of the community. "

American Library Association Policy 53.3.1 Linguistic Pluralism
http://www.ala.org/alaorg/policymanual/intellect.html

Nevada Library Association Access to Resources and Services in the School Library Media Program: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights
http://www.nevadalibraries.org/publications/freedom/ch6-03.html
Supports statement by American Association of School Librarians, above.

Texas Library Association
http://www.txla.org/pubs/ifhbk.html
The Intellectual Freedom Handbook of the TXLA includes sections on Items to Be Included in a Materials Selection Policy, Materials Selection and Accessibility, and points to the ALA discussion of Diversity in Collection Development.

BILINGUAL EDUCATION

A Review of the Literature on Bilingual Education
http://www.gaston.umb.edu/factsheethtml/biling.html and  http://www.gaston.umb.edu/factsheetpdf/biling.pdf (for pdf version)
by Lorna Rivera, the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston, April 2002 "This report summarizes some of the major research findings regarding the purposes and effectiveness of bilingual education. Questions that will be addressed include: What are the existing bilingual education models? Which bilingual education models work best? Should there be time limits for bilingual education? Do immigrants resist learning English? Does speaking another language interfere with learning? Should bilingual students be exempt from state-mandated testing? Are bilingual teachers qualified? Are bilingual education students more likely to dropout?"

National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE)
http://www.nabe.org/
The only national organization exclusively concerned with the education of language-minority students in American schools. Cites National Poll Showing 80% of Registered Latino Voters Support Bilingual Education. Includes Frequently Asked Questions such as Where can I get information about (and examples of) bilingual education programs? and Is it really true that kids are stuck in bilingual education for years without learning English? and Why doesn't it make sense to impose limits on the time a child can spend in bilingual education?

LANGUAGE RIGHTS AND POLICY

James Crawford's Language Policy Web Site and Emporium
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCRAWFORD/
Very detailed website with many links to all the related issues on this complex topic.

Linguistic Society of America Statement on Language Rights
http://www.lsadc.org/langrite.html
See also Resolution: In opposition to the Unz/Tuchman California Ballot Initiative: 'English Language Education for Immigrant Children'

TESOL Board of Directors Reaffirms Position on Language Rights
http://www.tesol.org/assoc/articles/0012-langrights.html
December 19, 2000 press release of TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) reaffirming the Member Resolution on Language Rights that had previously been passed in 1987.

MASSACHUSETTS - BACKGROUND ON "QUESTION 2"

Massachusetts Committee for Fairness to Children and Teachers (FACTS) / No on Question 2
http://www.dontsueteachers.org/
The official campaign in opposition to the anti-bilingual education “Unz” Ballot initiative in Massachusetts scheduled for November 5, 2002.

English Yes - Unz No / Committee for Fairness to Children and Teachers (FACTS)
http://englishyesunzno.org/
Another website of the political committee formed to defeat the statewide ballot initiative. Includes links to links to current and proposed law, lists of groups and individuals on record in opposition to the Unz ballot Initiative (list hasn't been updated in a while).

The Language Rights for Children Coalition of Western Massachusetts
http://www.umass.edu/education/languagerights/
Organized by a group of students and faculty members in the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

MASS ENGLISH PLUS COALITION
http://www.massenglishplus.org/
"a Massachusetts-wide coalition of concerned individuals and organizations dedicated to helping communities confront the problem of racism as it is linked to language-based discrimination through advocacy, coalition-building and educational activities. Our mission is to fight against all forms of language-based discrimination and to promote better services for language minorities." Many links to information on the Unz initiative and how to fight it.

Bilingual Education Massachusetts Web Page
http://members.aol.com/neilesl/
(with information on bilingual education and legislation) Independent web page by Neil Brick, ESL teacher, researcher and advocate.

COLORADO

Anti-Bilingual Initiative in Colorado
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCRAWFORD/co-unz.htm
Includes text of initiative, news clips and editorials.

CALIFORNIA

Proposition 227: Anti-Bilingual Education Initiative in California
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCRAWFORD/unz.htm
Includes press and editorial archives, research, poetry, videos, and election results, and "life after 227".
 

UNZ

"English for the Children"
http://www.onenation.org/
How the Unz group is presenting itself. Their motto: "Let's teach English to all of America's children and end bilingual education nationwide." This is the official website of the Unz campaigns across the country. Reforma does not at all endorse the statements in this website, but believes librarians and the the public should be aware of the positions taken by this group and critically evaluate them against the positions and data found in other sources. Critical information literacy skills are of utmost importance here.

UnzWatch: A media project to combat the Big Lie
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jwcrawford/unzwatch.htm
In English and en español. Seems to be outdated, limiting itself to info on the California Initiative, but has good background info on Unz, including an article that addresses the question of who is Ron Unz.

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Copyright 2002 REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking. Parts of this page may be reproduced for educational purposes.This is an official page of REFORMA.