The Battle over Bilingual Education

What's the Policy?

In 1998, voters in California passed an "English only" law, Proposition 227, an initiative that called for ending bilingual education in the state. In 2000, Arizona passed a similar law, Proposition 203. The California law, which took effect in the fall of 1998, requires schools to teach limited English proficient students almost entirely in English except when at least twenty students in a given grade level are granted waivers to the law. If an insufficient number of students receive waivers in a given school, the school district must allow students to transfer to another school that offers bilingual education. Many parents report, however, that the schools have not informed them of their right to choose bilingual education program. Educators and legislators in other states will be closely following the progress of California's and Arizona's students as they consider implementing similar plans.

How Does It Affect Teachers?

Many teachers are withholding judgment on the effects of Proposition 227 until they have a sense of what it will mean in the long run for Latino student achievement. School districts vary greatly in their strictness or leniency in granting waivers to allow bilingual education programs. School districts that supported bilingual education before Proposition 227 have found ways to keep at least some bilingual classrooms, whereas in school districts without such support, bilingual education has been either eliminated or severely restricted. In the Oceanside school district in San Diego County, for example, of the 159 waiver requests received, only five were approved, which effectively meant that no bilingual programs needed to be offered. Even within a district, waiver rates vary tremendously from school to school. Some schools have even seen an increase in the number of students enrolled in bilingual classes since Proposition 227 was passed. Presently, only 12.5 percent of the state's 1.5-million LEP students remain in bilingual programs.

What Are the Pros?

In the three years following passage of Proposition 227, scores on state standardized tests for English learners have risen, especially at the elementary and middle school levels. For example, many teachers at Ditmar Elementary School in the Oceanside school district report surprise at how well their LEP students have progressed academically in English immersion. Some report rapid gains in students' oral English skills and in their requests to read books in English in the school library. In the four years following passage of Proposition 227, scores on state standardized tests for English learners have risen, especially at the elementary and middle school levels.

What Are the Cons?

Some teachers report that their students tune out as the day goes on because they can't keep up in English, whereas others say they have slowed the academic pace of their classes because it takes much longer to convey information. Still other teachers state that fewer students in their classes are ready to read compared with last year because the students' English vocabulary is much more limited than their Spanish vocabulary. Teachers in the upper elementary grades say they often pull students out of subjects such as science to do extra work in English so they can read their textbooks.

Lynn Gonzalez, a second-grade bilingual teacher at Ditmar, says, "This has been the hardest year of my life." She feels "enormous pressure" to make the school district look successful by producing English-proficient students by the end of the year, even though her training taught her that such proficiency takes at least three years. "I'm implementing something that goes totally against my beliefs," she says.

What Do You Think?

1. Do you support the intent of Proposition 227 to do away with bilingual education models other than structured English immersion? Why or why not?
2. If you were teaching LEP students who had had only one year of English instruction, what concerns would you have?
3. What might be some motivations for parents to request waivers to Proposition 227?

Sources: Lynn Schnaiberg, "Calif.'s Year on the Bilingual Battleground," Education Week, June 2, 1999, pp. 1, 9–10; Mary Ann Zehr, "English-Language Learners Post Improved Calif. Test Scores," Education Week, September 5, 2001, p. 29; Duke Helfand, "The Bilingual Schooling Battle Flares Anew," Los Angeles Times, February 20, 2002.
Available at: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la000012930feb20.story?coll=la%2Dcalifornia%2Dmanual.

For more information on the current status of bilingual education and English-only policies, visit these web sites, then reflect on the questions that follow.

Web Links:

Voter Mandates and Bilingual Education

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/23/education/23LESS.html

This October 2002 editorial from the New York Times suggests that voter mandates limit the flexibility of districts, schools, and teachers to deal with the individual needs of English language learners.

Early Bilingual Programs Found to Boost Test Scores

http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=01collier.h22=bilingual

This article from Education Week reviews the implications of a long-term research study suggesting that English Language Learners perform better if their early schooling is bilingual, rather than English-only.

Seeking the Right Course on Bilingual Education

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/247/metro/Seeking_the_right_course_on_bilingual_education+.shtml

This 2002 article from the Boston Globe profiles one school district in Massachusetts that uses a "structured immersion" in English to help English Language Learners.

Born in the U.S.A.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=01biling.h22

This 2002 article from Education Week presents multiple points of view about how American-born children of parents who do not speak English can best acquire the language.

Language Policy Web Site and Emporium

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCRAWFORD/

Jim Crawford, a former editor of Education Week, maintains this web site with information on current controversies about language policies in education. He presents a good deal of current information, but the site tends to oppose English-only movements.

For Further Reflection:

1. Do you feel that voter-mandated policies unduly hamper the decision-making abilities of districts, schools, and teachers? Why or why not?
2. What can teachers and schools do to make a structured immersion program work if they are affected by laws such as those in California and Arizona? How can they find ways to help students who are have problems after their year of English instruction is over?
3. What are the benefits, for students and their families, of learning English rapidly? What are the benefits of bilingual education?