“Language Justice” policy means students won’t need to learn English in the Denver Public Schools if a social justice policy is adopted.
By Eileen Griffin
As the migrant surge continues, children without English language skills are flooding classrooms all over the country.
A group fighting for “language justice” is proposing that Denver schools allow students to learn in their own language through the use of headphones and other devices, Washington Examiner reports. If adopted, students will no longer be required to learn English.
The Community Language Cooperative, advocating for “language justice” and the Colorado chapter of Stand for Children, an organization supporting “education equity” and “racial justice,” are partnering in the effort to eliminate the English language requirement in the name of social justice.
The Denver public schools are positioned to accept this concept as their mission already includes “education equity.”
“Building on the strong progress we’ve made, we want to continue transforming DPS (Denver Public Schools) into a school district grounded in equity,” the website reads. “This districtwide focus on equity will be embedded in everything we do, so that we can help break historical patterns and become a school district that is designed to inspire every student to dream big and make their own future.”
The Community Language Cooperative says on their website that everyone should communicate using “the language of their heart.”
“Since 2014, the CLC has centered the practice of radical inclusion, sharing power, and dismantling oppressive systems that impact linguistically diverse communities,” the website reads.
The DPS Board of Education has made “equity” a focal point of their policies and governance.
“Historic institutional racism and discrimination have inhibited the academic and social progress of students of color and students that qualify for free or reduced lunch in Denver,” states a proposed policy. “The root causes of inequities in Denver Public Schools stem from many social, cultural, political, and economic factors beyond the district’s control. However, the district must focus on strategies within its locus of control while advocating for strategies that may require additional stakeholders or resources.”
With so many children arriving without English language skills, school districts are forced to create solutions to the language issues. Denver is just one of many cities suddenly overwhelmed with non-English speaking immigrants.
In June, the Washington Examiner reported that schools were being flooded with illegal immigrants. Some districts in the country stated that 80 percent or more of the students in government-run schools are immigrants.
With so many children coming from non-English speaking countries, they need additional help and resources. They join the school grade corresponding to their age regardless of their academic skill level so without language skills they are immediately behind the rest of the class.
In Denver, over 200 different languages are spoken. There are 35,000 students from homes where English was not the primary language.
In addition to the language deficit, immigrants also cost the district additional resources as students arrive without materials or even food.
When New York City opened its doors at the start of the new school year, the system was overrun with migrant children, the Federation for American Immigration Reform reported in September. The schools were expected to absorb 21,000 new students speaking many different languages.
“In what was simultaneously the understatement of the year and an admission of gross malfeasance, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul described the influx of unregistered, unvaccinated, and educationally unprepared students as ‘an unexpected challenge’ for her state,” writes FAIR Media Director Ira Mehlman.
Thousands of students arrived at schools where the education system was not prepared for them. Lack of space means other students have been pushed out to make room. Lack of resources means more taxpayer money used for immigrant children as opposed to local families.
“DOE (Department of Education) will eventually figure out how to enroll all the migrants and provide them with desks and essential school supplies,” Mehlman writes. “What it won’t be able to do is provide New York City public school students—migrants or native-born—with an education.”
“The department’s own 415-word memo to teachers makes it clear that they will have little or no hope of even being able to communicate with the thousands of migrant students, speaking myriad different languages, much less teach them anything,” Mehlman writes.” At the same time, their American classmates—largely from disadvantaged families—will fall further behind.”
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