The history of Texas' implementation of bilingual education is examined through a review of relevant literature and court litigation, and a survey of school district superintendents and administrators on this topic is reported. In interviews with the administrators, it was found that bilingual education and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction are widely misunderstood. Eight of the 10 participating school districts did not take advantage of federal funding opportunities. In several South Texas schools, the curriculum is geared to transitioning students into all-English instruction as quickly as possible, with Spanish language use discouraged. Parents of students identified as limited-English-speaking (LEP) frequently declined bilingual program participation, did not respond accurately to home language surveys, and did not volunteer for language proficiency assessment committees. Other problems included inconsistency in committee functions, lack of equity between bilingual, gifted and talented, and special education, difficulty in hiring qualified ESL teachers, and communication problems within schools. Implications are drawn. A summary in Spanish of administrators' responses to interview questions is appended. (MSE)