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Home > Press Room Archives > 2005 > Press Release
Press Release
LULAC Decries Suspension of High School Student for Speaking
Spanish
Organization
files compliant to U.S. Department of Education.
December 9, 2005
Contact: Brenda Alvarez,
(202) 833-6130
Click here to see LULAC complaint letter (PDF format)
Washington, DC – The
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
severely criticized today officials of the
Endeavor Alternative School in Kansas City, Kan.
for suspending high school junior Zach Rubio for
speaking Spanish in the hallway of his school.
Although the decision was rescinded by the
school district, the action taken against Rubio
was in blatant violation of his civil liberties
and is a prime example of language
discrimination.
The 1st Amendment
guarantees to all citizens the right of freedom
of religion, freedom of speech and press,
freedom of assembly, and freedom to ask for
governmental reform. Barring someone from
speaking Spanish infringes upon a person’s right
to freedom of expression – both oral and
written. Moreover, punishing someone for
speaking a language other than English has been
ruled by many courts as language discrimination
and found to be the same as discrimination based
on race or national origin.
LULAC is deeply concerned over
the explanation of the school’s decision to
suspend Rubio for 1 ˝ days, noting that “this is
not the first time we have [asked] Zach and
others to not speak Spanish at school.” This
official statement suggests there has been a
consistent and unlawful pattern of language
discrimination.
“This type of practice is
often seen in the workplace, businesses or
government services. It is alarming to learn
that an educational institution has violated one
of our country’s most fundamental rights,” said
Brent Wilkes, executive director of LULAC. “Ms.
Jennifer Watts and her staff acted in poor
judgment by disregarding the laws of this
country – a law that is taught in every 8th
grade class room across the United States – and
we are filing a complaint and requesting a full
investigation from the Department of
Education.”
LULAC National President
Hector Flores has written a letter to James
Manning, the Assistant Secretary for Civil
Rights of the U.S. Department of Education,
requesting an official investigation involving
the infringement upon a U.S. citizen’s civil
rights and to determine cyclic patterns of
discrimination.
What happened in Kansas City
is a microcosm of a broader national debate over
language in America. LULAC’s position on
language is for programs to
embrace cultural and
linguistic differences as they will serve to
enrich the entire student body.
The League of the United Latin
American Citizen (www.lulac.org)
advances the economic conditions, educational
attainment, political influence, health and
civil rights of Hispanic Americans through
community-based programs operating at more than
700 LULAC councils nationwide.
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