BILINGUAL EDUCATION FOR PUERTO-RICANS IN NEW-YORK-CITY - FROM HOPE TOCOMPROMISE

In this article, Sandra Del Valle examines the struggle for bilingual education as a fight for civil rights in which lawyers and litigation have played a large role. By specifically looking at the role of Puert o Ricans in New York City in these struggles, she examines the fatal g ap between two visions of bilingual education-the vision of the grassr oots Puerto Rican community that saw bilingual education as educationa l enrichment, and the remedial model that was ultimately adopted and a dvanced by lawyers and other professionals in the courts. As Del Valle argues, national policymakers, federal courts, and advocacy organizat ions have raised the nation's consciousness on issues affecting langua ge-minority students; however, these forces have also contributed to t he compromised nature of bilingual education, making it especially vul nerable to attack. Therefore, the role between these entities-that is, education advocates, policymakers, and the courts-must be constructed differently and take its cues from students, parents, and local grass roots organizations.