EDUCATION BOARD MEMBER MAKES CASE FOR EBONICS : BOUDREAUX'S MOTION GOES TO PANEL.

Byline: Terri Hardy Daily News Staff Writer

After weeks of appearing on national television debates, Barbara Boudreaux brought her case to the Los Angeles Board of Education on Monday night to expand the school district's ebonics program.

Board member Boudreaux's motion to increase funding for the ebonics program that helps teach English to African-American students was forwarded to a committee after a series of clashes in the board room and hallways outside.

Despite the frenzy over the controversial issue, and concerns by some of her colleagues, Boudreaux remained optimistic that her motion eventually would be successful.

``It will be hashed over a little . . . but I'm optimistic it will pass,'' Boudreaux said.

``Los Angeles Unified School District will not be teaching ebonics in the classroom. Our teachers will not be required to teach it, the goal is to move education to the higher level,'' Boudreaux said.

Boudreaux's draft resolution acknowledges ebonics - the combination of ebony and phonics first coined in 1973 to describe African-American speech patterns - as a distinct language.

At least three of the seven board members have said they would not support Boudreaux's motion.

Others said they expected the motion to be amended to ensure that all students struggling to master English would receive the same special instruction.

Opponents of the motion said they were concerned about expanding the district's Language Development Program for African-American Students because it had not been proven effective.

Harsh criticism for the plan came earlier in the day when a group of African-American activists called for Boudreaux to resign.

They charged that her motion sold African-American students short in order to capture state and federal funds for bilingual education.

``There's no such thing as black English, this is the most insulting, disgraceful thing they could do to our black children,'' Ezola Foster, a teacher at Bell High School and founder of a nonprofit group Americans for Family Values, said at a news conference outside school district headquarters. ``Black children are being used as pawns for money - that's shameful.''

Latino groups also have opposed Boudreaux's proposal, saying it could drain money set aside to teach Latino students English in bilingual classes.

Boudreaux denies that funds will be siphoned from any other bilingual programs, but said she intends to push to receive state and federal funds.

Last month, the Oakland school board declared ebonics a unique language - a move that many said was taken in order to collect federal bilingual money.

At the Los Angeles news conference Monday, some African-American activists warned that, as the second-largest school district in the country, the LAUSD's actions would be copied in other areas.

``This is devastating, we don't want our children to be guinea pigs,'' said Roxanne Petteway, a board member of the Coalition on Urban Affairs in Los Angeles. ``Black children can learn if they're taught properly. Phonics works for all kids, let's use that.''

The district's Language Development Program for African-American Students costs the district $3 million a year. Taught in 31 schools, it trains teachers to recognize ``black English'' as a separate language in an effort to help them teach African-American students standard English.