The United States is considered a multilingual country but it has never employed an official language policy. Even though English is clearly the dominant language, a variety of indigenous and immigrant languages are also spoken. The framers of the Constitution purposefully decided not to select an official languagebecause of present linguistic diversity; however, due to the German 1community's active involvement in the Revolution, the Continental Congress published many documents in German to facilitatecommunication. Ultimately, the official language was never 2specified in the U. S. Constitution. Proponents of bilingual education felt that poor academicachievement in certain students was attributed in part to insufficient 3English instruction. They believed that because language-minority 4students were taught some subjects in their native tongue, thenthese students could potentially learn English by sacrificing the 5content. Critics of bilingual education argue that this approach of instruction facilitates native language dependency and ultimately deters their progress in English language acquisition. Bilingual advocates counter this argument in stating that bilingual instruction looks at deeper issues of cultural difference and prevents the sort of alienation often empowering in "English only" mandates. 6 The issue of bilingual education is both complicated and controversial. The range of programs, as well as the differentmeanings in different states, complicate the debate. The debate 7continues and all sides offer research and studies that are 8diametrically opposed to one another. In 1998, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 227, an initiative thatbasically in attempts to eliminate bilingual education from its public 9schools'. The state of Arizona has mustered a different sentiment and 10Mayor Giuliani of New York City has established a task force to investigate bilingual programs and the possibility of English immersion programs.