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“I see dual language immersion almost like language reparations,鈥� said Jos茅 Miguel Kubes. 鈥淭here was harm done during those 18 years of English-only, and it’s our jobs as educators to do something about it.”

Kubes is the superintendent of Delhi Unified, a small district of five schools nestled in California鈥檚 Central Valley. , around 40% have been classified as English learners and speak a non-English language at home. 

Demographics like Delhi鈥檚 are relatively common in the Central Valley, whose agriculture economy has long depended on immigrants. Indeed, they鈥檙e reflective of California鈥檚 historical success attracting immigrants from a diverse range of cultures. This history is visible in the state鈥檚 K鈥�12 system: there are in the U.S., and . 

And yet, the state hasn鈥檛 always embraced this diversity 鈥� or the immigration driving it 鈥� as a strength. In 1998, as a capstone to , voters passed , a referendum banning bilingual education for nearly all English-learning children in California. 

As Kubes notes, for kids. For nearly two decades, California schools stripped hundreds of thousands of linguistically diverse children of their emerging bilingual abilities. Worse yet, this was predictable: that bilingual and dual language immersion programs are the best models for these students to learn English and succeed academically. 

This can seem counterintuitive: Wouldn鈥檛 students learn English fastest in programs that taught only in English? But a drumbeat of studies 鈥� and the experience of 鈥� indicates that forcing young English learners into these sorts of 鈥渟ink-or-swim鈥� English-only lessons makes it difficult for them to understand academic instruction in English. Bilingual and dual language settings allow these students to begin learning English while deepening their abilities in their primary language, giving them opportunities to learn from classroom materials in both languages. 

When voters lifted the bilingual education ban in 2016, California鈥檚 political leaders embraced the change. Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson set ambitious new goals through their , pledging to have at least half of all California students enrolled in bilingual schools by 2030. And yet, in the ensuing nine years, the state has made only halting progress towards building a K鈥�12 school system that aligns with that research-backed bilingual vision.

Ironically, when it comes to bilingual education, this deep blue coastal state could learn a lot from a conservative rival to the south. Texas , but serves them very differently. Indeed, , the state has required school districts with significant numbers of English learners to offer them bilingual education. In 2019, , overhauling its school funding formula to make it in school districts鈥� interest to shift their programming to align with the research on how English learners learn best. 

Like most states, Texas provides districts with a weighted funding boost to pay for language instruction for their English learner students. But for every English learner that districts enroll in the 鈥済old standard鈥� of bilingual education: dual language immersion programs. These bilingual schools teach in two languages, sometimes to integrated classrooms of English-learner and English-dominant students. 

Critically, the bill also provided funding bonuses for non-English learner students enrolled in dual language programs. This gives districts a fiscal incentive to commit to the model even after English learner students reach English proficiency and are reclassified as non-English learners. In addition, it sets out an incentive for Texas districts to create integrated dual language immersion programs that enroll equal shares of native English speakers and native speakers of the program鈥檚 other language 鈥� usually Spanish. 

Texas鈥� systemic bilingual investments have produced a very different English learner education landscape. Texas enrolls nearly 40% of its English learners in 鈥� twice the rate California does. 

Given the research consensus on the efficacy of bilingual and dual language programming for English learners, it鈥檚 perhaps unsurprising that this gap is producing . These students in Texas outperform their English learner counterparts in California on a number of metrics. For instance, in Texas they have consistently scored higher than California English learners in both and in every administration of the National Assessment for Educational Progress since 2011. Finally, achievement gaps between native English speakers and English learners are consistently smaller in the Lone Star State than in California.

States鈥� English learner policies are more important than ever now, as the Trump administration guts the federal Office of English Language Acquisition, which oversees hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding earmarked for supporting those 5 million English learners. With funding cuts looming, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act鈥檚 Title III grants to support English learners鈥� language acquisition, states are likely to determine on their own the depth and breadth of their investment in the success of these students.

In California, local efforts like Delhi鈥檚 continue to push the state out of its failed English-only past. Delhi relaunched dual language immersion programs about a decade ago. Back then, the district 鈥渋nherited a system that was not designed for all students to flourish,鈥� Kubes said. So when he became superintendent in 2022, he moved to deepen Delhi鈥檚 commitment to those growing programs. 

District leaders conducted public discussions in Spanish and English to learn what families wanted 鈥� and to help families of English learners learn about the of developing their children鈥檚 home languages.

鈥淲hat we offer,鈥� said Gena Buchanan, principal at Delhi鈥檚 El Capitan Elementary, 鈥渋s based on the needs of the community. It鈥檚 tailored to them. We used to have dual language immersion at just one site, but parents at the other schools started advocating for it, too.鈥�

The shift is driving major changes for Delhi families. Over 50% of the district鈥檚 nearly 900 English learners are now enrolled in dual language. And long-time residents say that it鈥檚 reaffirming the value of their Spanish abilities. 

鈥淚t’s personal for me because I went to school here,鈥� said Rosa Gonzalez, principal at Delhi鈥檚 Harmony Elementary and a former Delhi student during the state鈥檚 English-only era. She said that she put her own daughters in the district鈥檚 bilingual programs because of her experience losing her native fluency in Spanish. 

鈥淚 was struggling, as an adult, to communicate in Spanish,鈥� she said, 鈥渆ven though that鈥檚 the language I had learned first when I was a kid. It was heartbreaking for me now to have to try to figure out how to speak to my grandparents, and I didn鈥檛 want my kids to have to go through that.鈥�

But while local reforms like Delhi鈥檚 prove that California schools absolutely can deliver the language education models that research suggests work best, these efforts are definitionally limited in scope. In the near decade since relaunching bilingual education, California significant statewide policy changes to require districts to provide their communities with greater access to bilingual or dual language classrooms, nor has it provided substantial new resources to make it easier for districts to do so. State leaders have offered to seed several dozen new dual language programs, but have largely stopped touting the bilingual goals outlined in Global California 2030. 

While dual language immersion programs are uniquely beneficial for English-learning students, they can help all children become bilingual. Delhi parent Rosa Nuno brought her children to the United States when they were in kindergarten and fifth grade. She was eager for them to learn English, she said, but was also determined to maintain their connections to their native language and culture. 

鈥淭he more languages they learn, the better,鈥� she said in Spanish. 鈥淎nd I want them to feel proud of their roots.鈥� 

Meanwhile, Buchanan, the principal at El Capitan, is starting her own bilingual journey.

鈥淚鈥檓 English-only,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut seeing the benefits of dual language, I鈥檓 telling my children to enroll my grandchildren in our program. I鈥檓 an incredible supporter of it now. All the parents at my school know that I鈥檓 trying to learn Spanish.鈥�

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