Hilton outlines English-only California schools plan

The Republican gubernatorial nominee in California says schools should go back to English-only classrooms.

Steve Hilton said on “The Big Weekend Show” on Fox News that the lack of English proficiency in schools is a major problem, declaring, “This is our country! We speak English here!”

“And in a moment when less than half of the kids — and just across-the-board, never mind who come from other countries with different languages — actually meet basic standards in English. You can’t be diverting time and attention from the classroom just to serve those needs. They can be taken care of in different ways outside the classroom,” Hilton said in the interview .

“But you’ve got to focus on teaching everyone the basics of English and math, for that matter, and it’s gotta be done in English. I totally agree with that, and I’d want to see that. That used to be the law in California — the people voted for that on the ballot initiative and then overturned it, but I think we should go back to that,” he added.

The conversation was prompted by discussion of goals from the Trump administration to make Head Start classrooms English-only.

The move would have a significant impact on states such as California with high immigrant populations.

“It’s denying opportunity to anyone — look, I’m a legal immigrant and I want every legal immigrant in California to have a shot of the California dream. That’s not going to happen if you can’t speak English properly,” Hilton, who was born in London, said.

Hilton’s chances of becoming governor of bright blue California are low, with polls showing his Democratic opponent, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, holding a double-digit lead.