MONTGOMERY, AL -- Five Alabama citizens and members of ProEnglish, an Arlington, Va.-based national organization that advocates for official English, asked a state court today to order state officials to reinstate Alabama's policy of giving driver's license exams exclusively in the State's official language, English.
       The Atlanta-based Southeastern Legal Foundation, a constitutional public interest law firm, is representing plaintiffs Roger W. Cole, J.P. Hendrick, Thomas Schenzel, Stuart Shipe and Charles Van Brock in the suit.
       In 1990 the people of Alabama voted by an overwhelming 9 to 1 margin to amend their state constitution and make English their official language. To comply with the law and the express desire of Alabama's citizens, the state stopped giving driver's license exams in other languages. After it was challenged in federal court, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Alabama was within its constitutional rights to have such a policy.
       But despite winning vindication for its English exam policy, Alabama continues to let driver's license applicants take their exams in other languages. "The question is why, after Alabama waged an expensive and difficult 10-year legal battle to defend its English policy on driver's license exams, is Gov. Bob Riley refusing to restore Alabama's policy in compliance with the official English provision of Alabama's Constitution?" said ProEnglish Executive Director K.C. McAlpin.
      Currently, Alabama driver's license applicants can take their exams in one of 13 languages including Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Russian, Vietnamese, and Thai.
       The plaintiffs and SLF are seeking to enforce Amendment 509 of the Alabama Constitution, which gives standing to citizens to enforce its English language driver's license requirement in court.
       "In addition to flaunting the Alabama Constitution and the will of the people, Gov. Riley's decision to continue providing driver's license tests in multiple languages is a serious threat to public safety. Drivers who cannot understand English cannot read traffic signs, or communicate with police in the event of an accident or highway emergency" McAlpin noted.
       "We think there is a far better way to comply with the law and protect public safety: teach non-English speaking drivers to speak English," McAlpin added.