The handbook, intended to assist California school personnel in understanding the Portuguese language minority group, is designed for use by bilingual education specialists, administrators, and other teachers. An introductory section presents several vignettes of language situations in the schools. Two subsequent chapters outline general background information concerning the Portuguese language group. The first describes two immigration periods, immigration patterns, and education in Portuguese-speaking countries. The second outlines historical and sociocultural factors of this group, including attitudes toward education and language use and skills, both English and Portuguese. Another chapter examines various linguistic characteristics of the Portuguese language, especially communication and dialect patterns. A concluding chapter recommends instructional and curricular strategies for both Portuguese and English language development in this group. Appendices include a glossary, bibliography, ranking of California school districts' Portuguese limited-English-proficient enrollments, a guide to educational resources, a list of community organizations and media services, and charts of Portuguese and English consonant and vowel systems. (MSE)