A proposed measure that would require Colorado's graduating high school seniors to be competent in the English language is a "good idea," said Lincoln High School junior Andres Barela in Spanish.

"We're Mexicans, but we should respect the laws and the language of the United States," said Barela, as he and his schoolmate, 18-year-old Jesus Alba, carefully folded an American flag after lowering it from its staff at the end of a recent school day.

"Not only should you learn English so you can be a good, productive citizen," said Barela, "you need it in order to survive."

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, was criticized by fellow Democrats as an "unfunded mandate" shortly after it was introduced.

The proposal also drew mixed reviews from educators and community leaders, as well as from other students.

Nestor Soto, a 15-year-old freshman at Lincoln, called the bill a "bad idea." The native of Chihuahua, Mexico, said the measure, if approved, would be unfair to family members who have arrived recently in the United States.

"I have some relatives that got here when they were in middle school. They'll have more time to learn English well than those who get here during their sophomore or junior year," he said.

That was among the concerns of Kim Ursetta, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and a bilingual elementary teacher.

"What if you have someone move here in the 11th grade. You can't expect that student to be proficient in English after their first year," she said. "Research shows that it takes five to seven years for that to happen. We need to have realistic expectations."

Ursetta also expressed concern over the lack of funding for the measure.

"I don't think it's appropriate to mandate something without the resources. It reminds me of No Child Left Behind - having a mandate but no resources available," she said.

Senate Bill 73 would require all districts, including charter schools, to develop by 2012 English competency requirements to graduate from high school.

"What does competency mean? That is among my concerns," said Denver Public Schools board member Lucia Guzman.

"If a student comes from a monolingual Spanish background but takes the CSAP (Colorado Student Assessment Program) test in English, does that mean they're competent?" asked Guzman.

She also is worried about the requirement that each school district and State Charter School Institute Board develop their own rules for English language competency.

"Let's say there are districts with few English language learners. Will kids in that district be treated differently than those districts where a large number of students speak Spanish or Russian or another language?" Guzman said.

At Sheridan Public Schools, where nearly half the students are English learners, Superintendent Michael Poore questioned the idea of adding an English proficiency requirement at a time when federal funds for English as a Second Language programs are shrinking.

"We don't have a problem with accountability. Obviously, we want all our students to be proficient in the English language so they can have a successful future," he said. "But if we're going to have a requirement that adds an additional financial burden that comes out of our general funds, then it becomes a problem."

Romer said the idea for the bill came to him while he was serving as a volunteer superintendent for the New America Schools, a school for recent immigrants that provides English immersion and civics programs.

"The English language is the core for what all other knowledge is acquired," Romer said. "The school districts need to ramp up their focus on significant immersion for these students."

The bill is expected to move to the Senate Appropriations Committee next week.

quinterof@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5250