Bilingual education (BE) has long been established in Mexico, Peru, the U.S.S.R., the Philippines, and a number of other nations in order to teach both the vernacular and official languages. In the United States, BE has received increased attention since the passage of the National Bilingual Education Act and Title VII legislation. Evaluation reports from New Mexico's bilingual programs in Las Cruces, Albuquerque, and Artesia demonstrate that there are still questions to be answered and disagreements to be reconciled as to the basic definition and scope of BE. Areas of disagreement among educators are: (1) use of the vernacular versus a standardized version of the child's mother tongue, (2) amount of time devoted to non-English language instruction, (3) qualifications of bilingual teachers, (4) types of instructional materials, (5) basic purposes, and (6) extent of the program after grade 3. Two types of BE programs serve as models. The acculturation model is for children with limited English competence for whom initial instruction in the vernacular is phased out gradually in the primary grades as the students acquire a better command of English. The maintenance and expansion model, for grades 1-12, is designed to graduate literate bilingual students who are functional in two languages and cultures. A curriculum plan for the second model and comments on community involvement, costs, and teacher competencies are provided. (LG)