California voters have repealed a nearly two-decade-old law that limited bilingual education in public schools.
Proposition 58 won Tuesday. It had 72 percent of the first 2.5 million votes counted.
The measure undoes a 1998 law requiring schools to use English immersion for most students not fluent in the language.
Supporters said the old law was tinged with racism and that letting English learners study in two languages alongside native speakers helps both groups better prepare for work in a global economy.
Opponents said forcing students to learn English is beneficial and that the state's 1.4 million English learners had fared better in school since Proposition 227 was passed nearly 20 years ago.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
