Westmoreland Pushes for English-only

“All students applying for college aid fill about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, and any student eligible for college and financial assistance should be proficient in English and perfectly capable of filling out a form in English,” Westmoreland said. “Otherwise, how would they have graduated from high school or attained a GED? If a student can’t fill out a simple form in English, how is it that they gained admittance to a U.S. college?”

Currently, federal financial aid applications come in both English and Spanish. The Westmoreland amendment would bar the Department of Education from processing forms filled out in Spanish. To qualify for aid, students must be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.

“We all want students and their families to value educational excellence. We want students to excel in college and graduate and get good jobs, but when we’re spending tax dollars, it’s not unreasonable to institute regulations that assure that this money is going to students who are qualified and capable of succeeding in college. It’s disturbing to think that taxpayers could be asked to subsidize college education for someone who’s not proficient in the language spoken in the classroom.”