Saturday's Coloumbus Dispatch published a letter to the editor from chair of the advocacy committee of the Ohio Foreign Language Association, complaining that foreign language requirements were relegated to a secondary role in the revamped Ohio Core legislation now in the General Assembly.

Original version of the bill required two years of a foreign language, as well as beefed up math, science and a work and career-readiness test, for graduation. The latest version of Senate Bill 311 puts foreign languages in the "elective" role, along with fine arts and calls for an advisory committee to further study the idea.

Sarah Shackelford's letter to the editor said Senate Education Committee members worried about future teacher shortages in foreign language classrooms and the expense of implementing a two-year foreign language requirement in every school district.

Her association wants to reinsert the foreign language reuirement, but with a 10-year delay, to provide time for recruiting new foreign language teachers in a variety of innovative ways.

She noted that less than half of current Ohio high schoolers study foreign languages - at a time when speaking languages other than English is necessary for global competitiveness. She asks for the public to contact their legislators about the issue.

Ohio Core is likely to pass in the next week or two, steeling Ohio's graduation requirements to include more math and science in high school, as well as a graduation test to assess preparedness for life in the real world of work and college.

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