Supreme Court Ruling Pending in Crucial Appeal of Alabama Official English Law    
     On January 16^th attorneys representing the State of Alabama presented their arguments in Alexander v. Sandoval (no. 99-1908), in a dramatic hour of intense examination before the United States Supreme Court. Unless Alabama wins its appeal, the case could do irreversible damage to the cause of language unity in the United States. Underscoring its importance, ProEnglish, joined by fourteen congressmen and two other national organizations, the English First Foundation and the Center for American Unity, intervened by filing a legal brief on behalf of Alabama.
     Alabama began giving driver’s license exams exclusively in English after voters passed a citizen’s initiative making English the state’s official language by a 9-1 margin in 1990. State officials cited concerns about cheating and the public’s driving safety as additional reasons for making the change.  
     But Martha Sandoval, a seventeen-year legal resident alien in the state, sued Alabama with help from the ACLU, claiming its failure to provide a Spanish language exam amounted to “national origin” discrimination and was therefore illegal under the 1964 Civil Rights Law. Although similar attempts to redefine “national origin” discrimination to include language had been tried and turned down in a number of earlier court decisions, this time the federal judge agreed and ruled in favor of Sandoval. 
     The ruling was quickly seized on by the Clinton Administration as its legal ground for issuing Executive Order 13166, a sweeping decree mandating that all federally funded government agencies – federal, state, and local – become multilingual service providers on demand (see related story).
     Despite the importance of the language issue, some observers cautioned that the high court could choose to ignore it and decide Sandoval on the technical issue of whether or not an individual has the right to sue a state government agency under the 1964 civil rights law. But a ruling in favor of Alabama’s appeal would still be an important victory for the official English movement, because it would nullify the lower court’s radical redefinition of national origin discrimination. A decision is expected in May. 

Back to top

Congressional Co-Sponsors of ProEnglish’s Supreme Court Brief
     ProEnglish wishes to express its appreciation to the following members of the U.S. House of Representatives who joined as sponsors of its Supreme Court brief in defense of Alabama’s official English law in Alexander v. Sandoval:
     Representatives Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Bob Barr (R-GA), John Doolittle (R-CA), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Ernest Istook (R-OK), Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), William Lipinski (D-IL), Charlie Norwood (R-GA), Ron Paul (R-TX), Bob Riley (R-AL), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Nick Smith (R-MI), and Bob Stump (R-AZ).

Back to top

Clinton’s "Tower of Babel" Order Imposes Huge New Costs on Taxpayers
     One certain outcome of President Clinton’s Executive Order 13166, which decreed that all federally funded government entities provide services in languages other than English, is a huge new bill for American taxpayers. The order, issued August 11, 2000, relied on the Sandoval decision to assert its claim that the order merely "interpreted" existing law rather than created a radical new federal mandate (see story p.1).
     This allowed President Clinton to get around the constitutional requirement that Congress must approve the expenditure of public funds. Since E.O. 13166 was signed, several federal agencies including the departments of Justice, Labor, and Transportation have already issued regulations. Whatever other conflict or confusion is likely to result from these guidelines, ProEnglish’s initial review reveals that they will impose enormous costs on taxpayers at all levels of government.
     For example, Department of Justice implementing guidelines require that "competent" interpreter services for non-English speaking persons be made available at all security checkpoints, information desks, and building entrance or reception areas. Signs must be posted in three languages including the two most commonly spoken foreign languages in a given area. Complaint forms must be translated into the five most commonly spoken languages other than English. Outreach materials must be translated into the ten most commonly spoken languages, and consideration must be given to translating such materials into up to thirty of the most commonly spoken languages in the U.S. Based on the 1990 Census, the last could require the translation of documents into languages such as Miao, Gujarathi, and Urdu.
     In addition the guidelines issued by these federal agencies are full of subjective words and modifiers such as "reasonable steps," "meaningful access," "to the maximum extent practical," and many similar phrases that make it clear compliance will be at the arbitrary decision of government bureaucrats. Eventually every government agency in the country receiving even one dime of federal aid including local schools, libraries, and community health clinics will be subject to similar regulations.
     ProEnglish chairman Bob Park pledged that "ProEnglish will not cease working until this unconstitutional mandate is overturned by Congress, or by appropriate executive branch action. Nothing could illustrate more clearly why we need a law declaring English the official language of government in the United States."

Back to top

Administration’s Education Proposal Calls for an End to Bilingual Funding Mandate
     President Bush’s education proposal to Congress calls for eliminating the requirement that federal aid for teaching limited English proficient (LEP) children be spent on bilingual education. Instead, the president urges that local school systems be given the flexibility to choose the instructional program they want as long as they can demonstrate that they are making progress.
     The Administration’s proposal would limit a student’s time in bilingual education to a maximum of three years. After that school systems "will be required to teach children in English."
     ProEnglish chairman Bob Park welcomed the Administration’s initiative saying that if it were enacted into law, it would spell the end for numerous bilingual programs that are not likely to survive without federal subsidies and the current lack of accountability. "It is time to bring the failed experiment called bilingual education to an end," said Park. "ProEnglish supports the president’s education reforms related to Limited English Proficient (LEP) programs and we urge Congress to pass them without delay." Park warned that the president’s proposal would face strong opposition in Congress from an entrenched bilingual education bureaucracy that was far more interested in maintaining its own perks, power, and subsidies, than in the long-term interests of LEP students it purports to serve.

Back to top

Poll Reflects Growing Hispanic Preference for Spanish, Doubts about Assimilation
     A survey of Hispanic attitudes on a variety of subjects this fall revealed worrisome trends on language and assimilation. Bilingual interviews of 1206 Hispanic households conducted by Hispanic MONITOR, a Yankelovich consumer research publication, found that the percentage of Hispanic households preferring to use Spanish at home and work, and for getting news, had increased from 44 percent to 53 percent in just the last three years.
     In addition, 69 percent of those surveyed say that Spanish is more important to them now than five years ago and only 64 percent say they are concerned with fitting in to American society, compared to 72 percent in 1997. The Yankelovich researchers made no effort to screen for legal status, so survey results were likely to have been influenced by the record numbers of illegal aliens now residing in the U.S. Still, the results portend deeply troubling trends for those concerned with the national unity and the traditional American ideal of the "melting pot."
     "These survey results should be a wake-up call to our elected leaders from the president on down," said ProEnglish director, K.C. McAlpin. "Unless we take real steps to preserve our common identity as Americans, such as making English our official language, we will destroy the engine that has forged one nation out of people from every nation and tongue," he added.

Back to top

Bills Banning Bilingual Education on Hold in Virginia, Advance in Mississippi
    Virginia State Senator Warren Barry (R-Fairfax), author of Virginia’s official English law, decided to refer his bill banning bilingual education to a study committee for one year, after introducing it in the current session. His office expressed his deep appreciation to ProEnglish’s members in Virginia for the many messages of encouragement and support he received in support of his bill.
       Meanwhile Mississippi House Bill 298 banning bilingual education passed the State House of Representatives and was given a good chance of passing the State Senate. Sponsored by State Representative John Reeves (R-Hinds), the bill requires that all public school instruction be delivered to students "in the standard English language." Mississippi’s legislature must act by March 31, if H.B. 298 has a chance to become law this year.

Back to top

ProEnglish Joins Fight to Defend Utah’s Official English Law
     In November, Utah voters passed a citizen’s initiative making English the official language for government business by an overwhelming 2-1 margin. The vote made Utah the 26th state to adopt English as its official language. The victory was especially noteworthy because it came in the face of opposition by Utah’s business and political establishment -- including the state’s Republican Governor and (then) Democratic Attorney General.
     Almost immediately after its passage, several individuals and groups with the aid of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), filed a suit to block the law in state court claiming it violated Utah’s constitution. Legal observers say the legal defense mounted by the State of Utah, is extremely weak. In his official statement before the court, Utah’s Assistant Attorney General, Jerrold Jensen, not only expressed doubt that the official English law would be upheld, but in a later newspaper interview openly criticized the initiative as "flawed," and said it should be struck down.
     ProEnglish entered the case, Anderson versus Utah, and filed a brief February 6th, strongly defending the law’s constitutionality. ProEnglish executive director, K.C. McAlpin blasted the attitude of Utah state officials as "a blatant attempt to undermine democracy and the rule of law" and added "In Utah, as in other states, the people are the government and they have spoken very loudly in favor of adopting English as their official language. The Attorney General’s duty is to uphold all the laws of the State of Utah - not just those laws with which he personally agrees."
     The complete text of ProEnglish’s brief defending Utah’s law, as well as the complete text of ProEnglish’s brief in Alabama’s appeal to the Supreme Court, are available on the ProEnglish Internet website at "www.proenglish.org," or by writing to ProEnglish, 1601 N. Kent, Suite 1100, Arlington, VA 22209. 
     [Update: The Utah judge has relied apon ProEnglish's legal arguments to uphold the constitutionality of the initiative.]
Back to top

Pro-English Bills Expected in the 107^th Congress
    Several bills making English the official language or curtailing bilingual education have been introduced, and more are expected in the new Congress. This is a summary of the situation at the time this newsletter went to press.
    Bob Barr (R-GA) - a bill to make English the official language, similar to last session’s H.R. 123, the Bill Emerson English Empowerment Act.
    Bob Stump (R-AZ) - a bill to rescind Executive Order 13166, and a bill to make English the official language.
    John Doolittle (R-CA) - House Joint Resolution 16 - a constitutional amendment making English the official language.
    Jeff Flake (R-AZ) - H.R.637 - a bill to end the federal mandate for bilingual education funding, in favor of local decision-making.
    Peter King (R-NY) - H.R. 280 - a bill to make English the official language that would also end the federal mandate for bilingual education funding.
    Tom Tancredo (R-CO) - H.R. 385 - a new version of the "Parents Know Best Act," requiring parental consent for placement in bilingual education classes.

Back to top

ProEnglish Website Makes it Easy to Contact Congress
   ProEnglish has more information than ever available on our website, www.ProEnglish.org. Recent additions include the text of various bills in Congress, lists of bill sponsors and co-sponsors, and a page that makes it easy for you to compose and send messages to your congressmen. 
    To use the message capability, go to the ProEnglish Legislative Action Center (www.ProEnglish.org/legislative.html). Below "Write to Congress," enter your Congressman’s name, and click on the "Search" button. If you don’t know your congressman’s name, you can search for it by entering your zip code. Follow directions to compose a letter that can be printed and faxed or mailed, or automatically sent via e-mail to a congressional office.
    There is also a new "Resources" page (www.ProEnglish.org/resources/resources.html), which provides guides to useful information including information about legislation, past issues of the newsletter, current news articles and many other resources. You can also contact ProEnglish directly by sending an e-mail message: