Actually Rob, many of the students who will be affected by this policy are Dominican immigrants. I teach bilingual and ESL Social Studies classes in NYC. 75% in the Spanish bilingual program are Dominican. I'm suprised Mass. took the same turn as California in regards to bilingual education. The core problem is that 25-50% have serious literacy issues which are not addressed. The immigrant students who are reading and writing at grade level in their native languages go through the bilingual program in 3 years or less. Because immingrant kids are a nicer bunch to teach than native born kids, many want to stay in the classes because of the more positive environment. I am always advocating for students who are programed in the ESL program or the bilingual program who do not belong there. There is a big hueco in the system. I read the article about the IDB loan to the DR for education. This sounds like it is going to set up the administrative structure for the program. Who knows if phase 2 will ever happen. Too many Dominican students enter the US system at 14 or 15 and are 2-4 years behind in grade level and can barely read and write in Spanish. They will probably eliminate bilingual education in NYC someday also.