After passing the nation's toughest state immigration enforcement law, Arizona's school officials are now cracking down on teachers with heavy accents.Compare that approach with the story I did five years ago on the City of San Bernardino which decided to start teaching black kids using ebonics, the tortured ghetto slang spoken in some black communities. If you want to guarantee a dysfunctional society, make sure there's no common language.
The Arizona Department of Education is sending evaluators to audit teachers and their English speaking skills to make sure districts are complying with state and federal laws.
Teachers who are not fluent in English, have a heavy accent or do not speak grammatically correct will be temporarily reassigned.
"As you expect science teachers to know science, math teachers to know math, you expect a teacher who is teaching the kids English to know English," said Tom Home, state superintendent of public instruction.
In 2000, voters passed a referendum which stipulated that instruction of these classes be offered only in English. Then in 2003, President Bush's No Child Left Behind act stated schools couldn't receive federal funding unless an English teacher was totally fluent in the language.
For the most part, the state is in compliance, but not all teachers are up to standards. Of the 236 total districts in the state, nine were cited for not being in compliance with fluency regulation this year.
Critics say with deep cuts to education thanks to the failing economy, the state should focus elsewhere. The Arizona Education Association, a union representing some 34,000 teachers, refused speak to Fox News.
And, of course, Arizona will once again be pilloried by the ignorant for attempting to enforce federal law. Look for a statement from Obama condemning them at any time.
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