Remedial ed may be cut

The California State University Board of Trustees continue to push forward with a remedial education proposal despite overwhelming public opposition expressed at five public hearings held around the state this fall.

The remediation proposal, designed to tighten admission requirements by turning away students not prepared to take college level English and algebra and severely limit enrollment in remedial education classes, was the focus of the public hearings.

"The majority of people said we should not do this," said Ralph Pesqueira, a CSU trustee and chair of the sub-committee on remedial education that initiated the proposal.

Opposition to the proposal was voiced by students, teachers and parents at the public hearings which were held in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and Fresno.

The proposal may be modified based on comments from the public hearings and letters the committee has received, Pesqueira said.

"The policy will be altered to some extent," Pesqueira said. "But we still must reduce the need for remedial education."

Pesqueira said the major change may be the extension of the five-year phase-in plan which would have put the new requirements in place by 2001. Consideration will be made to extend the phase-in plan by one or two years, he said..

Admission requirements outlined in the proposal will not be changed, Pesqueira said.

"We have to have standards," he said. "We cannot have an openenrollment policy."

Pesqueira said most people misunderstood the intent of the proposal, which is to reduce the need for remedial education by improving the quality of education in the kindergarten through 12thgrade system.

But Pesqueira said he remains committed to proceeding with the proposal. "We will continue to march on this."

Critics of the proposal include state Sen. Tom Hayden. Speaking at the public hearing in Los Angeles, Hayden called the proposal "legalized segregation" that would unfairly target minority students.

Eric Mitchell, university affairs director of the California State Student Association, has challenged the proposal since it was presented in July.

"It is naive to think that K through 12 could make those kinds of changes in five years," Mitchell said.

The CSU system should not punish the students who are not adequately prepared in a kindergarten through 12th-grade system that suffers from budget constraints and understaffing, Mitchell said.

"The ultimate victory for us would be to get rid of the admissions requirement," Mitchell said.

The CSSA is planning to call a meeting where students and trustees can talk about the proposal, Mitchell said.

A new proposal will be presented by the sub-committee on remedial education on Dec. 15, Pesqueira said.

The board will vote on the remediation proposal in January.