At first glance, this looks rediculous. Then it turns out that the kid was supposedly speaking ill of another child, but doing so in Spanish to his Spanish speaking friends so that others would not know. Ok, so now it's a case of badmouthing other kids. At least that's the excuse they give. But the reason he was actually expelled was because he wouldn't sign a piece of paper saying he would honor the policy of not speaking Spanish. Was he in trouble for speaking ill against another kid or was he in trouble for speaking Spanish? Apparently "no Spanish" was already a policy. Can you make people at your school speak only English including at times like recess and lunch?
Can you make people at your school speak only English including at times like recess and lunch?
I can't get the video to run so I don't have all the facts about this case but I can throw in my two cents.
Absolutely not. Key words here are recess and lunch. That is not instructional time and quite frankly I don't care if they speak pig-latin. However, talking ill of another student has nothing to do with what language the student is doing it in. That is bullying. I don't care if one child understood what was said in another language or 30. That sort of behavior is not tolerated and it will be dealt with accordingly.
Now, I can definitely require my students to speak English during instructional time. I understand quite a bit of Spanish but I need to know as the teacher that they understand the lesson that is being presented to them in the language it is being presented to them in. They aren't going to be able to take their standardized tests in Spanish. They will not have their buddy right there to interpret for them. This is probably the issue going on at this school. The teachers may not know Spanish themselves (which shouldn't matter at all because ENGLISH is spoken in the US educational system) and a gap between ability and achievement has shown itself on standardized tests. This probably could have been prevented if a teacher this child trusted sat down and explained this issue to the student in a way he could understand. Kids usually aren't unreasonable when adults take the time to explain to them WHY a certain rule, etc. is necessary and in place. Also, when the child refused a directive from a school official that is defiance and has turned into a behavior issue. That has nothing to do with Spanish. This kid probably was defiant before this issue.
On another note, I also require my students to speak with proper grammar during instructional time. There is no ebonics allowed either. I understand that may be the way a student speaks with their buddies or at the house but in my classroom students will speak properly. I have not had a single complaint yet.