Starving For Access

This bill passed House and is now in the Senate.  According to Chris Hunter, the Director of the Department Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Michigan, this bill will only affect state government websites and documents and has no impact on schools. Read below:

DESIGNATE ENGLISH AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE  
  
House Bill 5633 (Substitute H-2)  
  
Sponsor: Rep. Jacob Hoogendyk  
  
Committee: Government Operations  
  
Complete to 5-15-06  
  
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 5633 AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE  
  
 The bill would create a new act to designate the English language as the official language of the state.  
  
 The bill specifies that, except as provided by law, a state agency would not be required to provide documents, public written materials, or provide website content in any language other than English. However, the bill would not prohibit a state agency or local unit of government from providing such materials in a language other than English.  
  
 The bill defines "state agency" to mean means a department, board, commission, office, agency, authority, or other unit of state government. State agency does not include an institution of higher education or a community college.  
  
FISCAL IMPACT:  
  
 The bill would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on state and local governments.  
  
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:  
  
 According to ProEnglish[1], a national organization "working to educate the public about the need to protect English as our common language and to make it the official language of the United States," about half of the states have designated English as their official state language. The scope of each state's law varies, from a single sentence law in Indiana ("The English language is adopted as the official language of the State of Indiana"; Indiana Code 1-2-10-1) to more detailed laws that specifically define the scope and effect the designation has on the state and local governments.  
  
 For example, Iowa enacted an English language law in 2002 (Iowa Code §1.18) that provides that, with certain exceptions, the English language shall be the language of government in Iowa, and that "[a]ll official documents, regulations, orders, transactions, proceedings, programs, meetings, publications, or actions taken or issued, which are conducted or regulated by, or on behalf of, or representing the state and all of its political subdivisions shall be in the English language."  
  
 Exceptions include (1) the teaching of languages; (2) requirements under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act; (3) actions, documents, or policies necessary for trade, tourism, or commerce; (4) actions or documents that protection the public health and safety; (5) actions or documents that facilitate activities pertaining to compiling any census of populations; (6) actions or documents that protect the rights of crime victims or criminal defendants; (7) the use of proper names, terms of art, of phrases from languages other than English; (8) any language usage required by or necessary to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the U.S. or the state; and (9) any oral or written communications, examinations, or publications produced or utilized by a driver's license station, provided public safety is not jeopardized.  
  
 According to 2004 census figures, approximately 8.9 percent of Michigan's population five years of age and older speaks a language other than English at home. An additional, 3.3 percent of the population does not speak English "very well".  
  
  Legislative Analyst: Mark Wolf  

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The Starving for Access Team

Nover and Innes: Presentation on Bilingualism 

On Tuesday, May 9^th, Dr. Steve Nover and Dr. Jay Innes presented to interested community members the topic of ASL/English Bilingualism at the Michigan School for the Deaf Service Building (cafeteria).

It was exciting to have the dynamic duo in town to provide research based information on a pedagogy that is gaining force across the nation. However, it was equally as disheartening to find the cafeteria sparsely filled with  stakeholders.  There wasn’t a single parent of a current MSD student present.  About 20 people were in the attendance, all of whom were teachers, administrators, alumni, and community members. 

We are concerned that while MSD Administrators have expressed commitment to changing from Total Communication to ASL/English Bilingualism, there is an apparent lack of genuine effort to recruit more people for such presentations. 

Without evident commitment from all stakeholders (other than attending Referent Group meetings and promising to attend the training provided by Gallaudet Leadership Institute this summer), we have grave concerns about the future of MSD. 

On May 10^th, we assenbled once again at the Holiday Inn to go over the principles of implementing ASL/English Bilingualism at MSD.   We talked about the future of MSD as an Outreach Agency, reaching out to Deaf children all over the state through technological means and Early Intervention programs.  During the day, we broke into groups and reached the unanimous agreement that we must start from age 0-3. 

“MSD could become the leader in Deaf Education for the country to follow,” Dr. Nover said, eyeing each one of us expectantly. 

The next meeting is set for September 20^th, 2006. 

(CAEBER: Center for ASL/English Bilingual Education and Research)