To the Editor:

I am an educator, a researcher, and a parent, and I would like to thank you for your support of Proposition 58: Language Education, Acquisition, and Readiness Now (LEARN). Proposition 58 will provide more options to teachers and parents regarding the education of California's children. While developing English proficiency will still be a priority, with Prop 58, California’s children can learn English while developing a second language. Essentially, a YES vote on Prop 58 is good for all of California's children—English-speaking and English-learning alike.

Currently, due to imposed English-only instruction, 74 percent of English Learner students in grades 6 -12 who have been in California schools for seven or more years are still without the English skills they need to succeed academically. This is far longer than it should take to attain English proficiency and should attest to the ineffectual English-only requirement of Prop 227. Voting Yes on Prop 58 would overturn the English-only requirement in California’s public schools, providing expanded access to high-quality dual-language programs. This has the potential to reduce the persistent achievement gap between native English speakers and English learners. All California’s students deserve the right to high-quality education.

— Rhianna Casesa, Ph.D.