HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 95-4675, by Representatives Cole, Dickerson, G. Fisher, Poulsen, Jacobsen, Veloria, Quall, Chopp, Mason, Patterson, Radcliff, Rust, Ogden, Conway, Thibaudeau, Romero, Brown, Tokuda, Brumsickle, Grant, Cody, Huff, Talcott, Regala and D. Schmidt

      WHEREAS, This great nation was built in large part through the hard work, dedication, and enterprise of immigrants who left their homelands to begin a new life in this country; and

      WHEREAS, Washington has the nation's third fastest-growing immigrant population of any state, and the third largest refugee population of any state; and

      WHEREAS, Nearly one in ten Washington residents speaks a language other than English at home, and the number of non-English-speaking homes has increased dramatically during the last decade; and

      WHEREAS, Learning the English language has been, and continues to be, critical to new immigrants if they are to succeed and prosper in this country; and

      WHEREAS, More than thirty-six thousand students in Washington State currently receive English instruction through the state's Transitional Bilingual program, and thousands of adults receive instruction through a variety of state-supported and volunteer programs; and

      WHEREAS, These students are taught by a dedicated group of educators, many of whom volunteer their services; and

      WHEREAS, If the State of Washington is to compete successfully in international markets, having citizens who are multilingual is essential;

      NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the citizens of this state who are multilingual and the educators and other individuals who are working to help non-English-speaking immigrants learn English; and

      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives join  the Superintendent of Public Instruction in declaring the week of April 24-28 as a time to acknowledge the value and importance of bilingual and English-as-a-second language education to our nation and state.

      I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of

     Resolution 4675 adopted by the House of Representatives

                         April 20, 1995.

                 ________________________________

                  Timothy A. Martin, Chief Clerk