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Synopsis of the Study
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In May, 1998, The League of Women Voters of the Houston Area adopted a two-year study of bilingual education in the Houston area.

LWV-H supports educational legislation, policies, and programs which take into consideration the following:

• The purpose of bilingual education should be to teach every limited-English proficient (LEP) student to read, write, and speak English as soon as possible while maintaining academic achievement.
• The bases on which the effectiveness of bilingual education should be determined are
  • how quickly transition into English is made and
  • standardized testing results of academic achievement, using valid data that can be confirmed.

• Factors that negatively influence the academic achievement of LEP students are
  • limited supply of qualified, committed teachers;
  • high mobility of students' families;
  • economic hardships; and
  • sometimes the low educational expectations of the teachers, family, and the children.

• These factors can be mitigated by
  • consistency of curriculum among school districts;
  • adequate resources available from the Texas Education Agency;
  • working with families and teachers to raise educational expectations; and
  • creating new avenues for recruiting additional teachers who are qualified and committed.

• Because the preservation of ethnic cultures is the responsibility of the home and other institutions, funding for bilingual education should be focused on the acquisition of English proficiency.