Virginia ProEnglish

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Issues
Official English
Bilingual Education
English on the Job
Citizenship and
   Immigration
Bilingual Ballots
Puerto Rican
    Statehood
Ending E.O. 13166,
   the "Multilingual    Mandate"

Contact us:
1601 N. Kent St.
Suite 1100
Arlington, VA
22209
ph: (703) 816-8821

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Status of Language Laws in Virginia

In 1981, and again in 1996, this state passed a statute declaring English to be the state's official language. (See below). 11.1 percent of this state's residents speak a language other than English.

Language Use in Virginia

Virginia does not have an official language. The state does allow referenda and voter initiatives to pass new statutes or to change the state's constitution. 6.1 percent of this state's residents speak a language other than English in their homes.

These are foreign languages most commonly spoken as the primary language in a home in Virginia:
Spanish (248,096)
French (33,236)
Korean (32,562)
Tagalog (30,285)
German (28,728)
Vietnamese (26,768)
Chinese (25,511)
Arabic (20,545)
African languages (17,756)
Persian (15,238)
Urdu (common in Pakistan and Northeastern India) (11,414)

Official Language Law of Virginia (2006)

CODE OF VIRGINIA,
CHAPTER 829 (1996)
CHAPTER 7. OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE COMMONWEALTH.
§7.1-42. English designated the official language of the Commonwealth.
English shall be designated as the official language of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Except as provided by law, no state agency or local government shall be required to provide and no state agency or local government shall be prohibited from providing any documents, information, literature or other written materials in any language other than English.
§22.1-212.1. Obligations of school boards.
Pursuant to §7.1-42, school boards shall have no obligation to teach the standard curriculum, except courses in foreign languages, in a language other than English. School boards shall endeavor to provide instruction in the English language which shall be designed to promote the education of students for whom English is a second language.