I like it too. However is Scott pandering to Latinos by trying to ease the "learn English" requirement or is the complaint legitimate?
It sounds like he wants to defend teachers who (as I see it) can barely teach proper English to American citizens.
Maybe their union will defend teachers’ inability to provide instruction to the ‘newcomers’. It has succeeded in protecting them from the charge that OTHER ‘graduates’ are unemployable, illiterate, etc.-AND it gets steady raises for them in the process!!!
In the mean time, I think the whole public education system is a moot point anyway.
No one comes out of there in any way fit to work or continue to formal education.
I understand the question. The state constitution of Florida, IIRC, says English is the official language of the state.
So the 10th amendment principle applies here, I think.
Floridians have spoken, so they do not have room for federal intervention in this matter.
Arne and Obama can butt out.
It’s a legitimate complaint, IMHO.
Florida has a very large number of 100% legal and very much welcomed legal immigrants who speak English as a second language.
(There is also a large number of illegals who try to criminally blend in, who are causing a lot of new problems in all our communities. We want them deported, the Feds don’t)
That said, it defies belief that expecting Florida public schools to educate foreign language speaking K-12 students to attain the same English language proficiency/testing levels of native born English speaking students within two years, is an achievable goal.
It’s not a “one size can fit all” situation for the state, or even at the County or City level.
South Florida counties have a much larger percentage of legal immigrants (and illegal aliens) than North and Central Florida.
People like to bash Scott, but he is at least demonstrably sane and pragmatic.
He governs the state that actually exists, not the fictional potential state the hyper-partisans of both political parties pretend is real.