Proposition 227[1] was a California ballot proposition passed in the June 2, 1998 ballot. It effectively ended bilingual education programs in the state (with some exceptions) and replaced them with the Structured English Immersion model.[2] The bill's intention was to educate Limited English Proficiency students in a rapid, one-year program. It was sponsored by Ron Unz, the runner-up candidate in the 1994 Republican gubernatorial primary. The proposition was controversial because of its close proximity to heated political issues including race, immigration, and poverty. The methods of education enacted by the proposition reflect the electorate's support of assimilation over multiculturalism. It passed with a margin of 61% to 39%. Although many still argue today about the effects of the proposition, research on its success is for the most part inconclusive.