U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said that a Tucson Unified school has the best bilingual program he’s ever seen, despite Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne and some in the legislature advocating for English-only education.
Cardona visited TUSD’s Roskruge Bilingual K-8 Magnet on Thursday to speak with administrators and educators.
“I've visited 47 states in the last three and a half years," he said. "I have a bilingual, bicultural master's degree, and I was a school principal in a school that had a bilingual education program. This program here that I've seen is probably the top, one of the top programs that I've seen in my experience, not only as secretary but as an educator for the last 25 years.”
He said Arizona is also the only state that has an English-only law or intent, which he said puts students at a disservice. Arizona’s Prop 203 mandates English-only instruction for English Language Learners.
