Emerging from nearly two decades of language suppression wrought by Proposition 227, a "Bilingual Education Renaissance" is underway in California as new programs proliferate at a much faster clip than the state can produce certified bilingual teachers. California's policy shift is built upon an officially stated view of bilingualism as…

Bilingual education is on its way back in California. After decisively rejecting bilingual education in 1998, state voters enthusiastically endorsed its return in 2016. Educators are eager to offer more bilingual classes--and not only to recently arrived immigrants. Increasingly, English-speaking parents are also sold on the cognitive benefits of…

In 2016, California voters overturned a 1998 law that curtailed bilingual instruction throughout the state. After nearly 20 years of "English only" programs, what will it take to restore the schools' capacity to provide a broader range of services to English Learners, including dual language immersion and other forms of bilingual…

Exploring parent, student, and teacher language moves is essential to develop and implement strategies that cultivate Spanish use in support of dual-language engagement. We used Lareau's concerted cultivation framework to explore language use at a K-8 dual-language immersion school. A case-study design integrating content analysis was used to…

This article draws from historical, political, theoretical, and practice perspectives that provide a comprehensive analysis of how bilingual teacher education programs have strategically navigated around and through anti-immigrant sociopolitical ideologies to survive the incessant attacks on Latinx student populations, notably in the two decades…

Teachers in traditional bilingual settings confront strict program requirements under the guise of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), excessive assessment demands (state, district and program assessments in both English and Spanish), and negative attitudes about bilingual education from many in the political and public spheres. Since 1998, the passage…

California and the rest of the United Sates are undergoing significant challenges in providing educational opportunities for an increasingly diverse population. These challenges include inadequate literacy and numeracy skills among large segments of the student and adult populations; an ongoing shift in the demographic profile of the population,…

Describes the experiences of 20 Hispanic bilingual teachers in California following passage of Proposition 227. Teachers reported that Proposition 227 had created chaos, confusion, and academic setbacks for students and had intensified animosity between bilingual and nonbilingual advocates. Teachers exhibited resistance to the new measures. They…

Interviews and observations of a first-grade mathematics class to determine the influence of Proposition 227 on limited-English-speaking students found that many initial fears about Proposition 227 were unfounded; student ability to cope was underestimated; teacher knowledge of Spanish and Latino culture was critical; and students' limited English…

In this article, the authors describe the results of research that explored how Proposition 227--a measure that mandates English immersion instruction for all English language learners--has affected bilingual teachers at varying points in their professional development. The perspectives of preservice, novice and veteran bilingual teachers offer…

A study of 8 California school districts immediately following passage of Proposition 227, and another study of 39 districts a year later interviewed personnel, principals, and teachers about implementation of the English Only initiative. Specific implementation strategies reflected schools' previous programmatic efforts for limited English…

Although the passage of Proposition 227 reduced the demand for bilingual teachers, an acute shortage of teachers qualified to deliver needed instructional services to English learners remains. In 1998, prior to the passage of 227, 43 percent of the teachers providing instructional services to English learners were not fully certified to provide…

Numerous simultaneous educational reforms and limited data prevent drawing conclusions about the independent effects of California's Proposition 227, a 2-year-old English Only initiative. Achievement scores show little benefit for English learners. Observational data indicate that implementation of high stakes testing has encouraged teaching that…

This paper was written as a response to the political debate in California regarding the proper role of bilingual education in the state's kindergarten through high school public school system. Specifically, it examines, in light of the positions and prescriptions of Proposition 227 (an initiative holding that all California students be taught…