Purpose: Bilingual programs in the United States, particularly two-way dual language immersion (TWDL) programs, have been implemented since the 1960s to support the education of English Learner-classified (EL-classified) and language minoritized students. Over the past decade, TWDL programs have grown significantly across the United States. This…

The increase and popularity of dual language (DL) or two-way immersion programs nationally, and specifically in California, is due to the acceptability of bilingual programs that are inclusive of students whose first language is English, and who are typically of a White, middle-class background. This phenomenon can be explained through the idea of…

Under critical examination, the English language and its use in daily interactions carry with them symbolic values in our social world, including social mobility, educational achievement, and employment. Its representations in government bodies, mass media, education, and legal documents have further increased those values and subtly created a…

Based on a qualitative study of an urban middle school, this article examines student perceptions of shifting tracking structures following the dismantling of a school's bilingual education program. The article demonstrates that students understood the school changes based on supposed language needs through an explicitly racialized lens, thereby…

California's Proposition 227, or the Unz Initiative, had as its main focus the requirement that English learners be taught only in English, based on the belief that these children could learn English in one year. This led to the dismantling of many bilingual programs in K-12 schools across California. A team of faculty from California State…

CThe article is a study of Latino immigrant parents' agency toward primary language (L1) instruction in the face of restrictionist language policy. Certain attitudes and characteristics were associated with advocacy for Spanish L1 instruction. Interviews conducted in an urban California school district among parents with different background…

Few studies provide insight into how California principals perceive Proposition 227 and its impact on bilingual education. The findings of a survey distributed to 100 randomly selected California principals with bilingual programs, indicate the law passed by California voters has not changed the perceptions of California principals towards…

Two-way bilingual immersion programs are noteworthy within the context of US public education because, in them, the children of immigrants are essential assets. Language-minority and English-speaking pupils are grouped together, starting in kindergarten or earlier and extending at least through grade five, with a goal of bilingual proficiency and…

The entrenched nature of affirmative action, immigration, and bilingual education programs shows that ethnic minorities as well as powerful economic interests can benefit from client politics (H. D. Graham, 2002). In recent years, ballot initiatives have pierced the cocoon of legislative support for these policies and overturned them in California…

A survey of 100 parents in a California school district bordering Mexico examined relationships between the bilingual program parents chose for their kindergarten and first-grade children and parental demographic factors. Parents placed their children in settings that mirrored home language use. Parents with a higher level of education were more…

This report summarizes the results of California Proposition 227 so far based on standardized test scores (the Stanford 9) of Limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in reading, math, and language. It also analyzes the redesignation rates of students by district. California Proposition 227, also known as the "English for the Children"…

Describes dual language instruction models, and presents a paradigm for examining congruence among theoretical models, teacher beliefs, and actual classroom practices to determine program effectiveness. Examples illustrate implementation pitfalls. Analysis of Proposition 227 finds it to be a decontextualized procedural model; it has an incoherent…

This study examines the changing role of bilingual education in a Title I elementary school in Northern California in the wake of the passage of Proposition 227. It is found that native language literacy is an important component in the academic success of English language learners and that reading in the native language does not detract form from…

Bilingualism is a reality that many Americans still find difficult to accept; hence the prominence of English-only activism in American politics. This collection of essays analyzes the sources of the anti-bilingual movement, its changing directions, and its effects on education policy. This book also explores efforts to resist the English-only…

This guide, provided by a partisan education policy public interest group, seeks to answer the most frequently asked questions about teaching, designing, and evaluating an English immersion classroom and the research underpinnings in favor of English immersion. This guide aims to help teachers and policymakers better understand what English…