This recording is part 1 of 2 of an interview with Jose Cardenas on February 28, 1979. Cardenas recalls that federal initiatives such as the passage of Title VII and federal funding were stimulants for Texas to take action in passing bilingual education legislation. Cardenas explains that bilingual education was a remedy for Mexican American children in the school system. Reports had shown that in some school districts, Mexican American children were being placed in classes for the mentally retarded, were underachieving, and dropped out at high rates. Additionally, Cardenas notes that bilingual education has existed in Texas for many years. After the Mexican Revolution, many Mexicans came to Texas and established educational systems for their children in border towns. However in the 1930s, Texas prohibited the use of other languages at school, specifically against the use of German, but the law adversely affected Spanish schools as well. Some say that bilingual education is detrimental, but to Cardenas bilingual education is a useful method of acquiring English.