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Summary of Question 2
This proposed law would replace the current state law providing for transitional bilingual education in public schools with a law requiring that, with limited exceptions, all public school children must be taught English by being taught all subjects in English and being placed in English language classrooms. The proposed law would require public schools to educate English learners (children who cannot do ordinary classwork in English and who either do not speak English or whose native language is not English) through a sheltered English immersion program, normally not lasting more than one year. In the program, all books and nearly all teaching would be in English, with the curriculum designed for children learning English, although a teacher could use a minimal amount of a child's native language when necessary. Schools would be encouraged to place in the same classroom children who are from different native-language groups but who have the same level of English skills. Once a student is able to do regular schoolwork in English, the student would be transferred to an English language mainstream classroom. These requirements would not affect special education programs for physically or mentally impaired students or foreign language classes for children who already know English. Parents or guardians of certain children could apply each year to have the requirements waived, so as to place their child in bilingual education or other classes, if the parents or guardians visit the school to be informed, in a language they can understand, about all available options. To obtain a waiver, the child must either (1) already know English; or (2) be at least 10 years old, and the school principal and staff believe that another course of study would be better for the child's educational progress and rapid learning of English; or (3) have special physical or psychological needs (other than lack of English skills), have already spent 30 days in an English language classroom during that school year, the school principal and staff document their belief that the child's special needs make another course of study better for the child's educational progress and rapid learning of English, and the school superintendent approves the waiver. If 20 or more students in one grade level at a school receive waivers, the school would have to offer either bilingual education classes providing instruction in both the student's native language and English or classes using other generally recognized educational methodologies permitted by law. In other cases, a student receiving a waiver would have to be allowed to transfer to a school offering such classes. A parent or guardian could sue to enforce the proposed law and, if successful, would receive attorney's fees, costs and compensatory money damages. Any school employee, school committee member or other elected official or administrator who willfully and repeatedly refused to implement the proposed law could be personally ordered to pay such fees, costs, and damages; could not be reimbursed for that payment by any public or private party; and could not be elected to a school committee or employed in the public schools for 5 years. Parents or guardians of a child who received a waiver based on special needs could sue if, before the child reaches age 18, they discover that the application for a waiver was induced by fraud or intentional misrepresentation and injured the child's education. All English learners in grades kindergarten and up would take annual standardized tests of English skills. All English learners in grades 2 and up would take annual written standardized tests, in English, of academic subjects. Severely learning disabled students could be exempted from the tests. Individual scores would be released only to parents, but aggregate scores, school and school district rankings, the number of English learners in each school and district, and related data would be made public. The proposed law would provide, subject to the state Legislature's appropriation, $5 million each year for 10 years for school committees to provide free or low-cost English language instruction to adults who pledged to tutor English learners. The proposed law would replace the current law, under which a school committee must establish a transitional bilingual education program for any 20 or more enrolled children of the same language group who cannot do ordinary classwork in English and whose native language is not English or whose parents do not speak English. In that program, schools must teach all required courses in both English and the child's native language; teach both the native language and English; and teach the history and culture of both the native land of the child's parents and the United States. Teaching of non-required subjects may be in a language other than English, and for subjects where verbalization is not essential (such as art or music), the child must participate in regular classes with English-speaking students. Under the current law, a child stays in the program for 3 years or until the child can perform successfully in English-only classes, whichever occurs first. A test of the child's English skills is given each year. A school committee may not transfer a child out of the program before the third year unless the parents approve and the child has received an English-skills test score appropriate to the child's grade level. A child may stay in the program longer than 3 years if the school committee and the parent or guardian approve. Parents must be informed of their child's enrollment in the program and have the right to withdraw their child from the program. The proposed law's testing requirements would take effect immediately, and its other requirements would govern all school years beginning after the proposed law's effective date. The proposed law states that if any of its parts were declared invalid, the other parts would stay in effect.

2002 - Worcester County - Question 2Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives before May 1, 2002?

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Worcester County Results
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City/Town Ward Pct Blanks Total Votes Cast
Totals
175,953
56,775
23,933 256,661
Ashburnham
 
1,651
548
107
2,306
Athol More »
 
2,100
731
273
3,104
Auburn More »
 
5,010
1,193
529
6,732
Barre More »
 
1,308
483
220
2,011
Berlin
 
907
292
27
1,226
Blackstone More »
 
2,122
637
194
2,953
Bolton
 
1,410
602
71
2,083
Boylston
 
1,413
154
385
1,952
Brookfield
 
833
248
116
1,197
Charlton More »
 
2,950
646
263
3,859
Clinton More »
 
3,110
1,063
345
4,518
Douglas More »
 
2,048
533
143
2,724
Dudley More »
 
2,487
598
188
3,273
E. Brookfield
 
609
145
54
808
Fitchburg More »
 
7,138
2,165
1,091
10,394
Gardner More »
 
4,004
1,599
751
6,354
Grafton More »
 
4,351
1,212
296
5,859
Hardwick
 
736
262
110
1,108
Harvard
 
1,671
875
81
2,627
Holden More »
 
5,794
1,638
276
7,708
Hopedale
 
1,616
530
250
2,396
Hubbardston
 
1,290
330
52
1,672
Lancaster More »
 
1,670
513
226
2,409
Leicester More »
 
2,890
633
205
3,728
Leominster More »
 
9,478
2,872
1,114
13,464
Lunenburg More »
 
2,970
869
272
4,111
Mendon
 
1,534
448
141
2,123
Milford More »
 
5,709
1,767
1,110
8,586
Millbury More »
 
3,435
836
381
4,652
Millville
 
721
186
124
1,031
New Braintree
 
280
92
14
386
N. Brookfield
 
1,169
316
231
1,716
Northborough More »
 
4,335
1,433
347
6,115
Northbridge More »
 
3,004
989
751
4,744
Oakham
 
582
149
21
752
Oxford More »
 
2,675
785
947
4,407
Paxton
 
1,483
378
189
2,050
Petersham
 
379
213
26
618
Phillipston
 
435
133
13
581
Princeton
 
1,133
369
172
1,674
Royalston More »
 
298
126
22
446
Rutland More »
 
2,045
553
90
2,688
Shrewsbury More »
 
9,354
2,701
888
12,943
Southborough More »
 
3,034
1,069
256
4,359
Southbridge More »
 
2,661
947
1,268
4,876
Spencer More »
 
2,820
828
332
3,980
Sterling More »
 
2,448
630
201
3,279
Sturbridge More »
 
2,045
722
491
3,258
Sutton More »
 
2,722
614
365
3,701
Templeton More »
 
1,564
494
187
2,245
Upton
 
1,955
632
175
2,762
Uxbridge More »
 
3,301
1,015
378
4,694
Warren More »
 
1,027
333
156
1,516
Webster More »
 
3,281
804
517
4,602
W. Boylston More »
 
2,205
472
273
2,950
W. Brookfield
 
953
325
110
1,388
Westborough More »
 
4,394
1,742
513
6,649
Westminster More »
 
2,340
656
108
3,104
Winchendon More »
 
1,820
529
278
2,627
Worcester More »
 
27,246
12,118
5,219
44,583
County Totals
175,953
56,775
23,933 256,661