Janyce Bodeson, who teaches English as a Second Language (ESL) students at Santa Rosa High School, says there should be no misunderstanding about which local students may not be allowed to graduate with their high school classes this spring. Among all Santa Rosa district seniors who failed the exit exam last year, all but one was an ESL student, Bodeson reports.

If it votes to exclude those students from graduation, she says, the Santa Rosa Board of Education will be devaluing those students’ hard work and the efforts of teachers to involve ESL students in campus life.

As the debate over exit exams continues, Bodeson’s commentary will appear on Sunday in Forum and at pressdemocrat.com

-Pete Golis