Dive Brief:

• California is one of only four states to ban bilingual education in public schools for English learners, but by the end of the day, voters are poised to effectively overturn the state's English-only mandate first approved in 1998.
• The Hechinger Report writes Proposition 227 was approved in 1998 following arguments that students learn English faster in English-only classrooms, but a deeper understanding of the benefits of bilingualism has since supported a shift to helping students keep their first languages while they learn English.
• If voters expand bilingual education opportunities, one key challenge for the state will be finding a workforce to support it — after almost 20 years without it in schools, too few teachers have gotten the appropriate training to be able to teach in two languages, which is far more complicated than simply being bilingual.

Dive Insight:

Massachusetts, Arizona and New Hampshire are the three other states with restrictions against bilingual education in public schools. Massachusetts and Arizona, like California, implemented their restrictions following ballot initiatives, all supported by Silicon Valley millionaire Ron Unz. Bilingual education advocates in Massachusetts have also been working toward a change, but through the legislature rather than the ballot box.

A core equity issue in the fight over bilingual education is that opponents are only trying to keep English learners from learning in two languages. They do not mind native English speakers doing the same thing when it is considered an enrichment opportunity that will make them more marketable for future careers. In both cases students are learning in two languages. District leaders should take a close look at the programs they offer English learners and consider whether programmatic decisions are based on cultural bias.