Four AACRE-sponsored bills are moving through the California state legislature.
AB 1510 (Eng), which reinforces a parent’s right to bring an interpreter to school meetings to aid communication between parent and teacher, passed out of the Assembly yesterday morning and now heads to Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk. AACRE needs you to TAKE ACTION to urge the governor to sign this important piece of legislation.
As you know, communication between parents, their child’s teachers, and their school is vital to the child’s success. Too often, however, parents are denied the opportunity to engage in their child’s education because of language barriers, school districts being unaware of existing legal requirements, and limited district resources that cannot meet the demand for interpreters.
AB 1510 would clearly define, in the California Education Code, the right of parents and legal guardians to bring an oral language interpreter to school-sponsored meetings.
Please TAKE ACTION and send a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger urging him to support parents and opportunities for them to participate in their child’s education. Please click here to email a letter directly to Governor Schwarzenegger.
Coming Up
With three weeks left in the legislative session, legislators now turn their attention to a slew of bills that must be passed off their respective floors. AACRE has sponsored the following three:
AJR 15 (De Leon): Urges the U.S. Congress to pass and President Obama to sign the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). UAFA would remove legal barriers to immigration that same sex couples face.
Status: The bill was heard in Assembly Judiciary committee on Tuesday. Key witnesses gave compelling and personal testimonies regarding the need for the bill. AJR 15 passed out of committee with all of the Democrats voting YES and all Republicans voting NO. Assemblymember Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) and Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica) asked to be co-authors on the measure. The bill now moves to the Assembly floor.
AB 611 (Fong): Requires California’s emergency preparedness system to account for the needs of limited English proficient communities. The bill will be taken up on the Senate floor next week.
SB 549 (Correa): Authorizes the Board of Barbering & Cosmetology to collect demographic data that will assist the Board in communicating with nail salon workers and owners. We have removed all opposition to the bill. This bill will be taken up on the Assembly floor next week.
FUTURE ACTION NEEDED
AACRE will be asking you to send in letters of support urging the governor to sign these bills. We will keep you posted about the status of these upcoming bills.
Sincerely,
Santosh Seeram-Santana
AACRE Legislative Advocate
AACRE is a collaborative of
CAA | Chinese for Affirmative Action
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
Asian Law Caucus
