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STAVELY: Forty-three percent of public school children in New York City have parents who speak a language other than English at home. In December of last year, the City Council passed a bill that would require the Department of Education to provide translation in the eight most commonly spoken languages in New York. In January Mayor Michael Bloomberg vetoed the bill. He argued that only the State can legislate on education, and that the City Department of Education's Translation and Interpretation Unit already provides enough services.
But the New York Immigration Coalition says parents still aren't receiving information about their children's health or performance in school in their native languages. Catalina Martinez, a single mother from Mexico, says she can't understand her son Roger's report cards.
Catalina Martinez:
(Sound of speaking in Spanish)
I just tell my son, I ask him, "How are you doing in this class? How are you doing in that class?" And he says, "Well, in this class, not so good, in this class, okay." But I can't read everything, maybe they're telling me I should make him study more in one class.
(Sound of speaking in Spanish fades out.)
STAVELY: Supporters say the bill would help immigrant parents participate in their children's education. Co-sponsors of the bill, Hiram Monserrate of Queens, and David Yassky of Brooklyn, hope the City Council will override the mayor's veto in mid-February. They need 34 votes to succeed. In December, 35 members voted yes. The leader of the opposition to the bill, Councilman James Oddo, of Staten Island doesn't think he has enough votes to sustain the veto, but he still opposes the bill. He thinks it would discourage immigrant parents from learning English, and the estimated cost is too high.
James Oddo: I think attacking, and I think that's what this is, attacking the most common bond that we have as Americans, is misguided. I would rather take a chunk of that money, and it's a substantial amount of money, I mean, it's 20 million dollars, some people say it's higher, I'd rather we take a chunk of this money and provide additional English as a Second Language courses.
STAVELY: If the veto is overridden, the Department of Education will have to give City Council annual reports on its translation for immigrant parents. I'm Zaidee Stavely, Columbia Radio News.