In California, Rebuilding Bilingual Education in Schools After an 18-Year Ban
An English-only mandate for ELs has been reversed after 18 years, but progress has been uneven.
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California is, by almost every measure, one of the United States鈥� most diverse and vibrant states. The country鈥檚 , it also has .
The combination of public investments in the University of California system and the state鈥檚 welcoming approach to immigration have created a dynamic, technology-infused economy that is the of any U.S. state. Its also reflects that dynamism, serving . In 2021, California enrolled more K鈥�12 ELs than .
And yet, from 1998 to 2016, the state鈥檚 schools belied its cosmopolitan reputation, enacting an English-only mandate for ELs amid a . Unsurprisingly, the policy did little to change the state鈥檚 demographic trajectory 鈥� and .
That鈥檚 why California voters passed Proposition 58 in 2016, a referendum that reopened the possibility of bilingual education for California鈥檚 ELs. Supporters sold the measure as an opportunity for the state to deliver a multilingual school system befitting its reputation as a plural and diverse society preparing students to succeed in the global economy.
This is the first in 社区黑料‘s series on California鈥檚 effort to build a bilingual education system worthy of its culturally diverse reputation.
Eight years after Prop. 58鈥檚 passage, . Nearly two decades of actively subtracting languages from the state鈥檚 classrooms created myriad challenges. And yet, the state鈥檚 embrace of bilingualism has brought public narratives closer to . California launched the now-national , which provides public recognition for K鈥�12 graduates who demonstrate proficiency in more than one language. Efforts like these are changing California鈥檚 public discourse around languages and increasing demand for bilingual learning opportunities.
Part 1: An 18- year ban on Bilingual Education in California begins
When Proposition 227 made California an English-only state in 1998, suggested that roughly half of Latino voters supported the move. Subsequent exit polls suggested, but the measure passed all the same.
The number of ELs in bilingual education classrooms . While the new English-only policy permitted communities to offer bilingual education if enough ELs鈥� parents 鈥渙pted out鈥� of English-only education, only a small fraction of were able to meet that threshold. Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Cantonese, and other non-English languages vanished from schools.
But the state鈥檚 decision didn鈥檛 erase many Californians鈥� desire to have their children鈥檚 emerging bilingual abilities recognized and cultivated at school. Persistent demand from Latino parents launched and/or maintained bilingual and DLI programs, such as Los Angeles鈥� Camino Nuevo Charter Academy鈥檚 Burlington campus.
The school opened in 2000; community interest in bilingualism pushed leaders to prioritize students鈥� development in both English and Spanish. 鈥淲e were getting kids that were coming from programs that were all over the city,鈥� says former Camino Nuevo CEO Ana Ponce. 鈥淎nd parents wanted their kids to keep their native language. We were not bound by Proposition 227鈥檚 limitations because we were a charter, so we embarked on exploring different bilingual education models.鈥�
The school settled on a DLI model that begins with a majority of instruction in Spanish and gradually increases English-language instruction until the languages are evenly balanced in later elementary grades. Decades later, the Central Los Angeles campus effervesces with chatter swinging from Spanish to English. Fourth-graders pair off to practice division problems in math class to decide who goes first by playing Rock, Paper, Scissors or Piedra, Papel, Tijeras.
鈥淚 hope that God keeps these schools from disappearing, because they really help our children,鈥� says 13-year Camino Nuevo parent Maribel Martinez in Spanish. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to talk down the district鈥檚 schools, they also teach well, but their big mistake was cutting bilingual education鈥wo languages are worth so much.鈥�
Some of that value is academic. Research suggests that dual language immersion programs are the best way to support young, non-native English speakers in U.S. schools. But Camino parents say that this is only one of the reasons they prize their children鈥檚 emerging Spanish and English skills. Gloribel Reyes鈥� first child started at the school twenty years ago and her youngest is enrolled in fourth grade. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very important that the children learn both Spanish and English,鈥� she says in Spanish, 鈥渂ecause if they only learn English, they forget their own language, the language their parents speak. Some of their parents don鈥檛 speak English鈥攈ow can we speak with them?鈥�
Martinez agrees鈥攁nd notes that the school鈥檚 bilingualism makes it easier for Spanish-dominant families to engage with teachers and staff. That is, decades of hiring to staff Burlington鈥檚 DLI program have produced a fully bilingual staff.
After years of serving as a bilingual outpost, Camino Nuevo has become a bilingual quarry for other schools to mine. Kylie Rector, Camino Nuevo鈥檚 Director of Biliteracy and English Learners, says that 鈥渢he buzz to invest more in bilingual education鈥� has brought administrators from districts from San Diego to Northern California to the school.
Still, while bilingual and dual language immersion (DLI) programs are relaunching across the state, they are not growing anywhere fast enough to meet of building a system of at least 1,600 DLI programs to have 鈥渉alf of all K鈥�12 students鈥articipate in programs leading to proficiency in two or more languages.鈥� Last year, the state devoted for launching new DLI schools 鈥� the state estimates it will produce .
This is partly because California鈥檚 eighteen-year ban on most bilingual programs also flatlined the job market for bilingual teachers. This meant that K鈥�12 school systems produced more monolingual, English-dominant graduates, and it meant that the state鈥檚 bilingual teacher training programs largely shuttered.
This presents California leaders with a chicken-and-egg problem. They cannot grow bilingual classrooms around the state without more bilingual teachers, but the state鈥檚 K鈥�12 system remains mostly English-only and is not producing enough bilingual graduates to rapidly grow the linguistic diversity of the state鈥檚 teaching force. As a result, California鈥檚 K鈥�12 teaching force is much whiter and more native English-speaking monolingual than California鈥檚 K鈥�12 student body. .
The increased demand for bilingual educators has also made Camino Nuevo staff valuable across California鈥檚 public education sector. Some erstwhile Camino Nuevo employees have gone on to launch dual language schools of their own, like Yu Ming Public Charter School founder . Others are in and other . Still others are working in education advocacy at non-profit organizations like , , , , and the .
Cross-Pollinating Bilingualism in San Diego County
Just a ten mile drive from the U.S.-Mexico San Ysidro border crossing, Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School鈥檚 (CVLCC) campus is another hotbed of bilingualism. The school was founded by the Chula Vista Unified School District in 1998 as a way to maintain bilingual options once the state鈥檚 English-only mandate arrived.
Eddie Caballero joined CVLCC a year later as a 5th grade teacher. 鈥淚t was a rough start,鈥� he says, as the school struggled to focus its academic and linguistic instructional approaches. But by 2004, the school had coalesced around a vision 鈥� putting extra campus emphasis on foundational early literacy skills in both languages .
In 2005, Caballero moved to San Diego Unified School District to work in administrative roles. In 2008, a number of families of ELs were organizing to sign waivers to start a bilingual education program at Sherman Elementary, on San Diego鈥檚 east side. The school needed an experienced bilingual educator; Caballero was a natural fit. He was eager to use what he鈥檇 learned at CVLCC to replicate high-quality bilingual education 鈥� now in a district setting.
Just as at CVLCC, 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 see success immediately,鈥� Caballero says. He warns that just any bilingual education program won鈥檛 automatically succeed just by virtue of being bilingual. Too often, he warns, district leaders think they can 鈥渞ebrand鈥� their schools by launching DLI programs, 鈥渂ut no, you have to implement it carefully.鈥� This requires careful planning around curriculum, staffing, family engagement efforts, and much more. That鈥檚 why, in 2016, Caballero hired former CVLCC teacher Nicole Enriquez to be his assistant principal; she stepped in as principal when he left San Diego Unified.
Now, in 2024, Caballero is back as CVLCC鈥檚 CEO, which continues to serve as a flywheel for the local bilingual education ecosystem. He says that bilingual teachers often come to his school from nearby districts with the goal of developing their expertise teaching in bilingual or DLI settings. However, many leave after five years, because staying longer would cost them contractual seniority back in the districts where they began their careers.
鈥淐VLCC is an exemplary dual language school that not only has a culturally and linguistically responsive curriculum鈥攂ut also prepares students鈥� global critical consciousness through innovative and impactful approaches,鈥� says Cristina Alfaro. 鈥淎t its inception鈥e called it the Dream School.鈥�
Building Back
In the 26 years since California voters launched their state鈥檚 monolingual era 鈥� and eight years since they ended it 鈥� it鈥檚 clear that the ground of public opinion has shifted. Polling before the 2016 Proposition 58 referendum found that .
found that 65% of Latino families 鈥渨ould enroll their children in a bilingual program if it were available.鈥� In a separate 2023 poll of mostly Spanish-dominant Californians, 59% of respondents listed 鈥渁ccess to bilingual programs鈥� as an 鈥渆ssential鈥� or 鈥渉igh鈥� priority for their families.
Bilingual strongholds like CVLCC and Camino Nuevo are essential resources for helping make that hope realistic for more of those families. 鈥淚鈥檓 second-generation Chicana,鈥� says Sherman principal Enriquez. 鈥淎nd this generation of parents says things like, 鈥業 never got this opportunity as a kid. I wish that I could speak more Spanish. I want my kids to be able to be bilingual, to get the opportunity that I never had.鈥� And I鈥檓 that parent too! I brought my kids here, through Sherman, so they could be bilingual.鈥�
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Conor P. Williams is a researcher based in Washington, D.C. He was previously a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, the founding director of New America's Dual Language Learners National Work Group and a first-grade public school teacher in Brooklyn. He holds a Ph.D. in government from Georgetown University, a master鈥檚 in science for teachers from Pace University and a B.A. in government and Spanish from Bowdoin College.
