Complaints of racial stereotyping and insensitivity are prompting the replacement this month of instructional guides used by California school districts to teach their youngest immigrant students.

The state Board of Education ordered the replacement to end a longtime controversy sparked by critics who contend the material could taint teachers' attitudes toward immigrants.

New copies of the "English-Language Development Guide," part of the Open Court reading program, will be mailed to school districts within three weeks, said April Hattori, spokeswoman for the McGraw-Hill publishing company.

The teachers' guide, not distributed to students, provides tips and strategies for helping English-language learners succeed in Open Court, a phonics-based reading program used by numerous California school districts, including Sacramento City and Elk Grove Unified.

Controversy centered on the following statements in the guidebooks for kindergarten through sixth grades:

* "The absence of certain things in students' original cultures can obstruct their understanding of even common words like 'bowl.' Bowls are not often used at the table in Latin American cultures."

* "What if English-language learners think and act in ways that make teaching difficult? Some female students from Islamic or African cultures might believe it unladylike to speak up in class. Some Asian students might feel it is impolite to mention that they don't understand something."

* "Many immigrants go through a phase of active hostility toward the culture that is making life so uncomfortable for them. In school, students might go through a period of hostility toward both their teacher and other students."

Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles, said such statements about hostility and cultural dispositions can prompt teachers to unfairly expect antisocial behavior or to refrain from calling upon immigrant girls in class.

"If you stop calling on (Islamic or African) girls very much because you're trying to protect them from being embarrassed, then yes, it could be harmful," Goldberg said.

State Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Montebello, laughed at the notion that bowls aren't common at Latin American dining tables.

"Can you believe that? I guess we eat with our hands," Escutia said Tuesday.

In a letter to the Board of Education, Escutia blasted as "inaccurate and offensive" the claim that immigrant students are likely to be hostile.

"Many immigrant children are from cultures where teachers are greatly respected by students and their families," she said. "These children are probably the least likely to be unruly and disobedient."

Escutia called it appalling that such statements appear in a teachers edition purchased with millions of tax dollars.

Ruth B. Cochrane, a vice president of McGraw Hill, apologized in a letter to the state Board of Education.

"We acknowledge the gravity of the position that the guide includes some cultural references that are erroneous and offensive," she wrote.

Cochrane vowed to "remedy the problems and produce instructional materials for English learners that better represent the needs of this community."

The issue came to a head last summer, when the state Board of Education ordered the replacement that will begin this month.

The delay was caused, in part, by the need to rewrite the controversial paragraphs in consultation with representatives of ethnic communities, and by the company's desire to replace other material unrelated to the controversy, officials said.

As an interim measure, McGraw-Hill sent replacement pages last October that schools could insert into the teachers guides.

Districts will be asked to throw out the old guides once the new ones arrive. McGraw-Hill, which will bankroll the replacement, has not yet said how much it will cost.

The offensive statements consisted of several paragraphs within more than a dozen pages of tips and suggestions for teaching California's English-language learners in early elementary grades.

The overall message was for teachers to be patient, understanding, knowledgeable and creative when immigrants' reactions in the classroom do not necessarily mirror those of native Californians.

The statement about some immigrants going through a "phase of active hostility," for example, was followed by suggestions for how teachers should handle such situations in a constructive way.

"The best approach to discipline is to help students feel comfortable and accepted as quickly as possible," the book said. "Make the rules known and well understood."

The observation that "bowls are not often used at the table in Latin American cultures" was followed by an example of how teachers can best help puzzled children to understand the word.

"When Hispanic students in one first-grade class didn't know the meaning of the word 'bowl,' the teacher showed them an image in a children's picture dictionary. She then drew a bowl on the board and pantomimed eating cereal."

Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy, R-Monrovia, said the state Education Board overreacted by requiring replacement of every affected teachers guide.

"What's wrong with telling a teacher they need to be a little sensitive in this area?" he said. "I don't see how it could have impaired students since it's not a student-issued book. ... I think to ask the publisher to print new pages is acceptable. But to recall the book, I think, is excessive."

Officials of the Sacramento City and Elk Grove Unified school districts, which use the Open Court program, said they had received no complaints about the guidebook from teachers.

Martha Zaragoza-Diaz, representing Californians Together, an advocacy group for English-language learners, said the issue spotlights weaknesses in the state's system for reviewing curriculum before it is purchased.

Rae Belisle, executive director of the state Education Board, said the dispute prompted changes to ensure that volunteers reviewing such materials receive training to help them better identify statements that are culturally insensitive.

"We took it very seriously because people found it extremely offensive," Belisle said of the Open Court controversy.