Category: Higher Education

From the MALDEFian

Judge orders improvements in programs for English language learners

AUGUST 14, 2008 – Citing “palpable injustice” a federal court found that the State of Texas is failing to overcome the language barriers faced by tens of thousands of English Language Learner (ELL) students in the State’s public school secondary programs. MALDEF’s victory in United States v. Texas represents the most comprehensive judicial decision concerning the civil rights of ELLs in a quarter century.

The case was born out of long-standing discrimination against Latino students in Texas schools, which resulted in their inclusion in a 1981 Order that required the State of Texas to, among other things, provide appropriate and effective language educational programs for ELL students. Twenty-five years later, MALDEF and Multicultural Education Training and Advocacy, Inc. (META) filed a Motion under the Modified Order to enforce its terms. MALDEF argued that the State had failed to implement and monitor the bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs for ELL students in the state, resulting in the denial of equal educational opportunities for those students.

In July 2007, District Court Judge William Wayne Justice ruled that MALDEF was not entitled to the relief it sought. After MALDEF and META persisted in the case on behalf of ELL students, Judge Justice vacated his earlier ruling in its entirety. Finding that “[s]econdary…students in bilingual education fail terribly under every metric,” he ordered the State to create a language program for ELL secondary students and a monitoring system that met the requirements of the federal Equal Education Opportunity Act.

This ruling was a tremendous victory for ELL students in a state that has one of the highest percentages of ELLs in the country. In the 2004-05 school year, more than 15 percent of the student population in Texas’ public schools were identified as ELL. Ninety-three percent of those were Hispanic. According to the Texas Education Agency, only 13.1 percent of those students are recent immigrants.

The education system has significantly failed these students, allowing them to continue to experience the effects of the discrimination that first brought MALDEF to court on their behalf nearly 30 years ago. The court found that not only does the Texas Education Agency under-identify ELL students, but the “achievement standards for intervention are arbitrary and not based upon equal educational opportunity; the failing achievement of higher grades is masked by passing scores of lower grades; and the failure of individual school campuses is masked by only analyzing data on the larger district level.”

“Failed implementation cannot prolong the existence of a failed program into perpetuity,” the court concluded. Texas now has until January 2009 to come up with a revamped monitoring system that actually measures equal educational opportunities and an improved educational program for secondary ELL students. The new system will be introduced in the 2009-10 school year.

“This decision gives hope for the future of thousands of young Texans. Its importance cannot be overstated,” said MALDEF Staff Attorney David Hinojosa who, along with META, brought the case on behalf of LULAC and the American GI Forum.

Appeal Forwarded by Steve Yang. Translations by Google Translate–gm

大休斯顿地区中国学生校友为川震灾区学生救助和校园重建义捐倡议书

Chinese students in the Houston alumni for the earthquake-relief area students and campus redevelopment Yijuan倡议书

大休斯顿地区的广大中国学生、校友、教师和朋友们：

The majority of the Houston Chinese students, alumni, teachers and friends:

四川汶川地区发生的7.8级强烈地震牵动着我们在大休斯顿地区学习和生活的中国学生、校友及教师朋友的心。尤其是看到在这次罕见的特大自然灾害中，许多中小学生失去了父母、学校、家园乃至生命，我们非常难受，感同身受。

4 Chuan Wenchuan area of 7.8 strong earthquake affects us in the Houston area study and life of Chinese students, alumni and teachers friend’s heart. In particular, is rare to see in this extraordinary natural disaster, many students lost parents, schools, homes and even lives, we are very uncomfortable, acutely aware of.

为此，我们倡议大休斯顿地区的广大学生、校友、教师和朋友们共献一片爱心，为灾区学生救助和校园重建义捐善款。我们省出一点零花钱，少吃几次早茶，少买两件衣服，来帮助灾区的学生们度过这一难关。

To this end, we initiative of the broad masses of the Houston area students, alumni, teachers and friends offer a total of caring for the disaster area students Yijuan relief and reconstruction money to the campus. We point out of pocket money, eat breakfast several times, bought two small clothes, the disaster areas to help students through this difficult period.

我们同时呼吁在美国出生的华裔学生、包括在中文学校学习的大小朋友们伸出友谊的双手，援助你们遥远的祖先国正遭受天灾的同胞兄弟，体现中华文化中“一方有难、八方支援”的传统美德。

We also appeal to American-born Chinese students, including those in the Chinese school friends of the size of the extended hands of friendship and assistance you the distant ancestors of the people are suffering from natural disasters brothers, reflected in Chinese culture, “a difficult one, P Plus support” Traditional virtues.

中国教育发展基金会已设立了专用美元捐赠账户，接受专为救助灾区学生和校园重建的捐款。大休斯顿地区的各大学中国学生会、中国大学校友会、中文学校和学院等单位可先在内部倡议募捐，并适当汇总后，委托中国驻休斯敦总领事馆教育组代为转捐至中国教育发展基金会。

China Education Development Foundation has set up a donation account for dollars, to help the disaster areas to receive tertiary students and campus redevelopment contributions. Large areas of the University of Houston students in China, the Chinese University Alumni Association, Chinese schools and colleges, and other units can be first in-house fund-raising initiative, and appropriate summary, commissioned by the Chinese Education Consulate General in Houston took the group to donate to the China Education Development Fund Will.

可在捐款支票抬头注明：Chinese Consulate General in Houston，并请注明“China’s Earthquake Disaster Relief”。支票请寄至：

Check the rise in contributions can be annotated: Chinese Consulate General in Houston, and please specify “China’s Earthquake Disaster Relief”. Please check sent to:

Jun Tang
Chinese Consulate General
Education Office
811 Holman Street
Houston, TX 77002

联系方式：电话 (Contact: Phone)：713-522-0244
传真 (fax)：713-522-0015
电子信箱：tangjun-2007@hotmail.com

义款将及时转往中国教育发展基金会，并以最快捷的方式送抵灾区，专款专用。邮寄捐款时，敬请写明姓名、单位和联系地址和电话，以便查询和寄送收据及感谢函。

Just in time, will be transferred to the China Education Development Foundation and the fastest way to reach the disaster areas, earmarking. Mail donations, please specify names, units and contact addresses and telephone numbers for enquiries and send receipts and thank the letter.

如直接寄往中国教育发展基金会，可用该会的专用美元捐赠账户：

Directly sent to the China Education Development Foundation, which will be available for the dollar donation account:

开户单位：中国教育发展基金会
Open an account: China Education Development Foundation
账 号 (Account Number)：01770308091014
开户银行：中国银行总行营业部
Bank: Bank of China head office business department

中国教育发展基金会&
amp;
#32852;系方式：
China Education Development Foundation Contact:
地 址：中国北京市西城区西单大木仓胡同35号
Address: China’s Xicheng District, Beijing Xidan large wooden warehouse alley No. 35
联系电话 (tel)：86-10-66097788， 传真(fax)：86-10-66097755
网 址(url) http://www.cedf.org.cn

大休斯顿地区教育义捐倡议单位：

大休斯顿地区中国联合校友会
腾龙教育学院
休斯敦华夏中文学校
卫凌学校
莱斯大学中国学生学者联谊会
德克萨斯大学休斯顿健康中心中国学生学者联谊会
德克萨斯南方大学中国学生学者联谊会
休斯顿大学中国学生学者联谊会
贝勒医学院中国学生学者联谊会
德克萨斯A&M大学中国学生学者联谊会
德克萨斯A&M大学Kingsville中国学生学者联谊会
圣托马斯大学中国学生学者联谊会
南京地区42所大学休斯敦校友联谊会
大休斯顿地区其它各大学中国学生学者联谊会、校友会

另，如有其它社团愿成为倡议发起单位，请与顾洁娜联系：（713）884-7823。

Yijuan the Houston regional education initiatives:

Houston large areas of China Joint Alumni Association
Dragon Institute of Education
Huaxia Chinese School in Houston
Wei Ling schools
Rice University Chinese Students and Scholars Association
University of Texas Houston Health Centre Chinese Students and Scholars Association
Texas Southern University Chinese Students and Scholars Association
University of Houston, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association
Baylor College of Chinese Students and Scholars Association
Texas A & M University Chinese Students and Scholars Association
Texas A & M University Kingsville Chinese Students and Scholars Association
St. Thomas University Chinese Students and Scholars Association
42 in Nanjing University of Houston Alumni Association
Other major areas of the University of Houston, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, the Alumni Association

Also, if other organizations wish to become the initiatives launched units, and Gu Jie-na Contact: (713) 884-7823.

Beauty from the Heart of Texas

By Greg Moses

CounterPunch

Over at the Internet Movie Database, redneck trolls are saddling up their cyber posse to go night riding on the message boards against Denzel Washington and “The Great Debaters.” All of which is a good thing if you like to see relevance in contemporary art. Because deep down, “The Great Debaters” is a film about how to grow yourself into a real person despite the needlers, taunters, and brutes who dominate the space around you — and who dominate it, still.

Passion, poetry, learning, and love. These are the things you must keep working at. “The Great Debaters” is about never being deterred. In art, thank goodness, we are graced to craft images of humanity into beauties that last. And the beauty of Professor Melvin B. Tolson in “The Great Debaters” is heroic as it should be.

Okay, so the actual Wiley College debate team from Marshall, Texas didn’t actually debate the actual Harvard College debate team in or about the actual year of 1935, as the actual movie shows. But what Tolson and his students did achieve was just as beautiful as the film portrays. The students and scholars of the most unlikely little community in NorthEast Texas embodied the Harlem Renaissance. They breathed in the mighty poetry and aspirations that had converged upon Lenox Avenue, and they gave back to the world tiny seedlings of a civil rights movement that would make history, yes, upon brand new roots. And they were great debaters.

If “The Great Debaters” has not been able to satisfy internet demand for documentary accuracy, that’s a good thing again; because now there is opportunity to nourish that appetite. The more you get to know the actual beauties of these folk and their work, the less the film will appear like exaggeration. The more you’ll see that the film did the best it could do in two hours’ time to share with you the force of spirit that was distilled among the children and grandchildren of slaves.

Pecking through the internet, I’m locating a handful of seeds to get you started on your East Texas victory garden. The University of Illinois has a good starter page on Melvin B. Tolson. There you will notice that many of Tolson’s poems did not make it into print during his lifetime.

The Center for East Texas Studies has a good starter collection of materials about James Leonard Farmer, Sr. I have linked to the “historical marker” page, but if you navigate to the Farmer root directory, you’ll find a nice collection of texts and pictures. For example, I like what the Bostonia file says about the sermons of Farmer Senior:

“No printed copies of those sermons have been uncovered, but poet Melvin Tolson, on the Wiley faculty during the 1930’s, offered another glimpse in his Washington Tribune column, ‘Caviar and Cabbage,’ describing Farmer’s Mother’s Day 1938 sermon: ‘I was thrilled,’ Tolson wrote, ‘by this vivid picture of Jesus the young rebel,’ who dearly loved his mother while battling the convention of his time.”

Notice on the big screen how much smiling goes on between Tolson and Farmer Senior when the subject of Jesus comes up. Glimpse the game they play within a close intellectual relationship. In fact, Farmer Senior was a great scholar of the Gospels, which is another story altogether. A clip of the film scene, featuring the two academy award winning actors Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker, is widely available on the internet.

The autobiography of civil rights activist James Farmer, Jr. is rich with early memories of black college campuses, not only in Marshall, Texas. Here’s a link to the publisher’s page for “Lay Bare the Heart.”

During the 1930s, a federal work program collected slave narratives in Texas, which have been typed up and stored at the Library of Congress. Here’s a link to the index of that collection. Could it be the case that so many former slaves of Harrison County Texas actually had the failing memories they reported to federal writers?

And Salatheia Bryant of the Houston Chronicle offers a fine writeup on the “real” woman debater of Wiley College, Henrietta Bell Wells. Of the film says Ms. Wells: “I hope I live up to the ideals in it.”

So please don’t bother believing what the bigots tell you about this film, not even the trolls who claim to have Harvard degrees. You don’t have to be Black to feel beautifully about Denzel Washington’s fine new film, “The Great Debaters.” The “message” of this film is for anyone who still desires the capacity to dream higher than what you already are.

See Also: Philadelphia television reporter Tamala Edwards presents a more personal report on “Ma Wells.”

The American G.I. Forum has joined two veterans of the Persian Gulf War in a federal lawsuit, arguing that Texas veterans benefits should not be denied based on citizenship status prior to military service.

Plaintiffs Raul Dominguez of Potter County and Naser Alzer of Travis County were both legal residents of Texas when they joined the military, but were not citizens. Because of a 2005 ruling by the Texas Attorney General, they have been excluded from claiming education benefits under the Hazlewood Act.

The change of policy was prompted by a letter from the Chair of the Texas Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs Leticia Van de Putte. In the Jan. 10, 2005 letter to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, Sen. Van de Putte questioned the practice of higher education authorities who regarded veterans as eligible for Hazlewood benefits if they had 12-months of residency in Texas prior to military service.

“It is significant that the Act explicitly requires both Texas citizenship and residency,” wrote the Senator.

On August 19, 2005 the Attorney General agreed that in order to be a “citizen of Texas” one must be “a person who is a United States citizen and who resides in Texas.”

In the summer of 2006, says the lawsuit, applications for Hazlewood benefits contained the question: “Were you a citizen of the United States at the time you entered the service?”

The lawsuit filed June 28 by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) argues that Texas should not have started excluding legal residents from veterans benefits.

The recent exclusion, says the lawsuit, violates equal protection and due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution; violates the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution: violates the Texas Equal Rights Amendment; and violates the Texas
Anti-Discrimination Law.

Neither Senator Van de Putte nor Attorney General Abbott considered questions of civil rights for veterans, equal protection, discrimination, due process, or anti-discrimination in their 2005 correspondence.

The Gulf War veterans should be allowed to claim their Hazlewood benefits, says the lawsuit.

Here’s a pdf of the federal complaint in Dominguez, Alser, and American GI Forum v Texas (95k).–gm