T1B

WICHITA, Kan. — Four Hispanic families are suing St. Anne's Catholic School over a policy that requires students to speak English at all times while at school.

The lawsuit, filed Monday, calls for an end to the policy and asks for an order barring similar policies at other diocese schools. It seeks the return of one student to the school who was allegedly kicked out for refusing to sign the "English only" pledge. And it asks for court costs and unspecified damages for discrimination and emotional suffering.

"Language is an essential characteristic of one's national origin," according to the complaint filed in the case. "The ban on Spanish at St. Anne's created an atmosphere of intimidation, inferiority and isolation for Hispanic students."

The lawsuit was filed by parents Mike and Clara Silva, Maria and Fermin Fernandez, Guadalupe Cruz-Tello and Alma Contreras on behalf of themselves and their minor children. It names as defendants St. Anne Catholic School, Principal Margaret Nugent, St. Anne Catholic Parish and the Catholic Diocese of Wichita.

"I think if one school is granted their wish by not allowing their students to speak another language, then other schools will follow suit," Mike Silva said.

Diocese spokesman Fred Solis called the lawsuit unfortunate, saying the church has historically offered support and services to minorities and spoken out for immigrant rights.

The diocese has said the school enacted the policy in response to four students who were using Spanish to bully others and to put down teachers and administrators.

The majority of the school's 243 students are white. It has 75 Hispanic students, 27 Asian students and two who are black.

The parents claim in their lawsuit that since the school receives federal money for its free and reduced-price lunch program, it is subject to federal anti-discrimination laws. The district contends it is the students who receive the federal funding.

The students named in the lawsuit are bilingual U.S. citizens with no disciplinary records, court documents contend.

Lawyers for the Hispanic families contend bullying was not the initial reason the school enacted the policy, citing a letter the school sent saying that the more students are immersed in the English language the better their chance for improvement and success.

"One real problem that I think the plaintiffs have with the policy is not just that it's a bad policy, but that the justification keeps changing," said Christopher M. McHugh, an attorney for the families. "When one doesn't work, you move on to the next reason."

In a letter to the families' lawyer, diocese attorney Jay Fowler suggested the lawsuit would become a divisive issue for the community.

"The politicization of what basically is a disagreement between a parent and a school will most likely morph into an anti-immigrant sentiment, thereby undermining the effects of both our clients," he wrote.

Tom In VA wrote:The school is fair game I guess because it receives money from the gubmint for lunches and stuff.

BSmack wrote:

Tom In VA wrote:The school is fair game I guess because it receives money from the gubmint for lunches and stuff.

That's where you should have stopped. They're fair game because they CHOOSE to take federal and state money. End of story.

Mister Bushice wrote:What about the Asians and Blacks? If they're gonna allow spanish, I think they need to allow japanese, tagalog, vietnamese, korean, and ebonics as well. Lets be fair about this.

BSmack wrote:

Mister Bushice wrote:What about the Asians and Blacks? If they're gonna allow spanish, I think they need to allow japanese, tagalog, vietnamese, korean, and ebonics as well. Lets be fair about this.

I'm pretty sure that's the point of the lawsuit. The students are simply asking for the right to speak their language amongst themselves. IMO, if the use of Spanish is so damn disruptive, then mandate all students and teachers learn Spanish. That way, when little Jose calls someone a name, the other kids and teachers will know it. But hey, leave it to the RCC to turn to repression and ignorance when the chips are down.

mvscal wrote:

BSmack wrote:The students are simply asking for the right to speak their language amongst themselves. IMO, if the use of Spanish is so damn disruptive, then mandate all students and teachers learn Spanish.

If you want to live and work in this country, you need to learn English, fuckwad. And the best way to learn a language is to use it constantly.

BSmack wrote:

mvscal wrote:

BSmack wrote:The students are simply asking for the right to speak their language amongst themselves. IMO, if the use of Spanish is so damn disruptive, then mandate all students and teachers learn Spanish.

If you want to live and work in this country, you need to learn English, fuckwad. And the best way to learn a language is to use it constantly.

And if you really want to get ahead in this world, you'll learn more than one language. That school has a golden opportunity to make all of their students truly bilingual and they're pissing it away.

BSmack wrote:

Mister Bushice wrote:What about the Asians and Blacks? If they're gonna allow spanish, I think they need to allow japanese, tagalog, vietnamese, korean, and ebonics as well. Lets be fair about this.

I'm pretty sure that's the point of the lawsuit. The students are simply asking for the right to speak their language amongst themselves.

mvscal wrote:

BSmack wrote:And if you really want to get ahead in this world, you'll learn more than one language. That school has a golden opportunity to make all of their students truly bilingual and they're pissing it away.

They don't live in "the world", idiot. They live in America where it is not even remotely necessary to be bilingual to get ahead. It's abundantly clear that they already know how to speak Spanish. What they need to learn HERE is English. End of story.

BSmack wrote:

mvscal wrote:

BSmack wrote:And if you really want to get ahead in this world, you'll learn more than one language. That school has a golden opportunity to make all of their students truly bilingual and they're pissing it away.

They don't live in "the world", idiot. They live in America where it is not even remotely necessary to be bilingual to get ahead. It's abundantly clear that they already know how to speak Spanish. What they need to learn HERE is English. End of story.

Try getting into a decent grad school without demonstrating some proficiency in another language. Or do you not have such lofty expectations for these kids?

BSmack wrote:
Try getting into a decent grad school without demonstrating some proficiency in another language.

Cuda wrote:

BSmack wrote:
Try getting into a decent grad school without demonstrating some proficiency in another language.

Try getting into a decent grad school without demonstrating some proficiency in english.

Idiot

BSmack wrote:

mvscal wrote:

BSmack wrote:The students are simply asking for the right to speak their language amongst themselves. IMO, if the use of Spanish is so damn disruptive, then mandate all students and teachers learn Spanish.

If you want to live and work in this country, you need to learn English, fuckwad. And the best way to learn a language is to use it constantly.

And if you really want to get ahead in this world, you'll learn more than one language. That school has a golden opportunity to make all of their students truly bilingual and they're pissing it away.

SunCoastSooner wrote: I'd rather they learn Latin, Italian, german, Japanese, or even french... you know languages that are spoken in fellow industrialized nations or the basis of most western languages...