THE SACREDNESS OF LANGUAGE:
WHAT'S AT STAKE IN THE BILINGUAL EDUCATION DEBATE?

The issues around Proposition 227 are not merely educational or political, but deeply moral and ethical. On Sunday morning, May 24th, Grace Cathedral in San Francisco will host a panel discussion of the profound moral and ethical issues undergirding Proposition 227 and its attacks on language diversity and bilingual education.

Supt. Bill Rojas from San Francisco Unified School District, who has just sued the governor and the State of California for mandating testing in English of limited-English proficient students, and Carlota del Portillo will join theologians Carmichael Peters of Santa Clara University and Alan Jones, Dean of Grace Cathedral, for this discussion. The session will deepen the public discussion of Prop. 227 beyond the biased attacks on bilingual and public education which fill the media, to address fundamental issues of language rights and human rights. Will Proposition 227 be permitted to impose a restricted and diminished definition of civil and human rights in our state?

Please join us on May 24th at 9:30 a.m. in Gresham Hall at Grace Cathedral (1100 California Street). The Forum will also be webcast at www.gracecom.org. Immediately following the Forum, a press conference of religious leaders and other public figures will be held to release a statement to the media. Please join us at Grace Cathedral for these important events.