The strongholds of bilingual immersion rebuild bilingual education in California

California stands out as one of the most diverse and vibrant states in the United States. It holds the title of being the most populous state in the country, and it notably lacks any majority racial or ethnic group.

With substantial public investments in the University of California system and a welcoming attitude towards immigration, California has built a technology-driven economy, ranking as the largest among all U.S. states. Its diverse public education system mirrors this dynamism, catering to more English learners (EL) than any other state. In 2021, California enrolled more EL students in grades K-12 than all students in Indiana.

However, from 1998 to 2016, amid growing immigration anxiety in the late ’90s, the state’s schools contradicted their cosmopolitan reputation by enforcing a policy that mandated instruction exclusively in English for EL students. Predictably, this policy did little to alter the state’s demographic trajectory and even less to improve student learning.

For that reason, in 2016, California voters approved Proposition 58 in a referendum that revisited the possibility of bilingual education for EL students in California. Advocates promoted the measure as an opportunity for the state to offer a multilingual school system in line with its reputation as a diverse society, preparing students to thrive in the global economy.

This article is the first in a series from The 74 about California’s efforts to build a bilingual education system worthy of its cultural diversity.