Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

A federal judge's ruling that Texas has failed its students with limited English skills is suddenly the most eagerly awaited document in educational circles.

U.S. Senior District Judge William Wayne Justice's ruling, released Friday, tossed out his own judgment last summer that Texas was doing an adequate job of providing students with the education they need to function in English.

School administrators don't know the details of the latest ruling. But they know it will significantly change the way they teach the ever-increasing number of students who arrive at school speaking something other than English.

And statewide, legislators say, it could cost hundreds of millions of dollars to implement.

"It's going to be interesting to read that order and see how it impacts all of us," said Plano schools Superintendent Doug Otto. "The judge seemed to be focusing on secondary education, and implying that bilingual education programs might be appropriate at the secondary level, as opposed to the more traditional ESL [English as a Second Language] program."

The system now in place in Texas uses bilingual education – teaching in both English and the student's native tongue – in elementary grades. But in seventh grade, those students are "mainstreamed" into the rest of the student body and take courses taught in English. They also take English as a Second Language classes, and may receive additional help if they're struggling to keep up with class work.

"The goal is not to have separate programs when the students get older," Dr. Otto said. "We want them to experience the same programs and services, and certainly not be isolated from the rest of the students.

"We try to get students to the point where they can survive in an educational environment where they aren't separated from the rest of the student body," he said. "Then it's sink or swim."

But the plaintiff in the case before Judge Justice – the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund – said too many students with limited English are sinking statewide.

A majority of limited-English students in grades seven through 10 fail to meet the state's minimum standards on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests, and either have been held back or have dropped out at far higher rates than other students, MALDEF attorneys say.

Judge Justice's ruling gives the Texas Education Agency six months to come up with a language program that ensures equal education opportunities for all students.

The question is: How?

"I think what we'll probably see is the TEA doing a survey of statewide practices to see if some have more merit than others," Dr. Otto said. "But the problem is, how long do we believe it's good to have kids segregated? That's the issue that will have to be addressed."

State Rep. Dan Branch, a Dallas Republican and a member of the House Committee on Public Education, said that with Texas' shifting population, it's more important than ever that bilingual education meet the needs for literacy.

"Fifty percent of our population between zero and 5 years old has Hispanic surnames, so we have that need to reach them in their early years and find the best way to help them command the English language," Mr. Branch said.

Linda Henrie, superintendent of the Mesquite Independent School District, said students involved in bilingual programs at a young age "actually seem to do fine" in high school.

"Our goal is for them to be truly bilingual. We don't want to take away their home language. We want them to be proficient in English as well, and we're seeing that they're really being successful," Dr. Henrie said.

But beginning to learn English seems far more difficult for students enrolling in secondary schools – grades seven through 12, she said.

"Right now in Mesquite, that isn't a large number, but it is an increasing number, and it's a challenge," Dr. Henrie said.

"Research tells us it takes three to five years for a student to become proficient in another language," she said. "And with some of these students, we don't have three to five years."

Jon Dahlander, spokesman for the Dallas Independent School District, said the district has started dual-language programs in a number of elementary schools that teach in English for some courses and the student's native language for others. Some say that approach is more effective than traditional bilingual education.

And the district has been talking about creating an "international high school, a language academy of sorts" for older students, though that is still "at the drawing board level," Mr. Dahlander said.

But it's unclear how those will fit in with Judge Justice's ruling.

"The only thing we would offer now is we'll take a look at this closely beginning Monday," Mr. Dahlander said.

"There are obviously a lot of moving parts with this, and we'll respond accordingly."