On March 14, 2017, the ACLU of Kansas sent a letter to the President of the Dodge City Community College requesting official documents related to an alleged requirement that the College’s cosmetology students speak only English and refrain from speaking Spanish at school.
The ACLU’s letter points out that 38.7% of the school’s students were Hispanic during the 2016 academic year and that 53.5% of Ford County residents were Hispanic according to 2015 census data. The letter further pointed out that an English-only requirement would violate the constitutional rights of the school’s students.
Attorney Glenn Kerbs, of Kerbs Law Office, provided the requested documents on behalf of Dodge City Community College on March 22. Upon review, the ACLU determined the English-only policy to be vague, contradictory, and generally unconstitutional.
The written policy, which all students are required to sign to indicate acknowledgement, fails to clearly define policy guidelines, leaving much to student interpretation. Furthermore, the ACLU maintains its stance that the policy is in direct violation of the constitutional rights of the students in the program.
On April 10, the ACLU sent a letter to Kerbs Law Office outlining these concerns and urging Dodge City Community College to revise its English-only policy. The ACLU believes the administration should limit any English-only policy to situations in which the college's real interests and educational necessities require the speaking of one language and should allow the use of other languages in situations that do not fall within these parameters.