Texas is home to a burgeoning linguistically diverse population, which has contributed to the exponential growth of bilingual education programming across the state. One program type, two-way dual language (TWDL), has become a popular enrichment model of bilingual education and has received increased attention and funding at the state level. While…

Language is a form of human capital. Human capital refers to skills an individual needs to succeed within the labor market. Originating from The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 (Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1968), one of many purposes of dual language programs (DLPs) was to provide equal access to classroom…

At the core of contemporary U.S. language education policy is the dichotomous dividing of bilingual students into English learners, who are entitled to extra support, and non-English learners, who are not entitled to this support. In this article, we genealogically trace the normative assumptions that have gone into this framing of the issue. We…

In spring 2019, without controversy or fanfare and without violating the voter mandate of Proposition 203, emergent bilinguals in Arizona were once again granted unrestricted access to dual language bilingual education after nearly 20 years. The policy change was accomplished through a seemingly small piece of legislation that reduced the daily…

The Bilingual Education Act was passed in 1968 to address the challenges faced by emerging bilingual students in U.S. schools. Fifty years later, ideologies promoting bilingual education persist with a discourse of "one nation, one territory, one language nationalism." The bilingual and multiple language repertoires necessary for…

The Bilingual Education Act (BEA) was a signature piece of legislation and was especially significant as a legislative accomplishment for Latinos and Native Americans as part of the Great Society programs and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. While Senator Ralph Yarborough of Texas and President Lyndon Johnson have historically been credited…

As the 1968 Bilingual Education Act (BEA) reaches its 50th anniversary, we provide a critical historical review of its contradictory origins and legacy. By distilling the BEA's history into three periods that we label "power to the people," "pride for the people," and "profit from the people," we demonstrate that the…

This essay traces the bilingual education movement that began in Tucson through the efforts of local teachers, university faculty and educational leaders. It is argued that Mexican Americans and their allies played a crucial role in promoting the merits of bilingual education at the local, state and national levels. Their advocacy of…

Derrick Bell's interest convergence thesis is a seminal framework to analyze social change within critical race theory. While interest convergence's influence has grown, two foundational questions have been raised: do interest groups act rationally; does interest convergence also offer a change prescription or only an explanation of prior events.…

English learners (ELs) represent a growing share of the student population in the United States, yet are often sidelined in federal education policy discussions. At present, an uneven approach has yielded sharp differences in ELs' educational experiences, with some states prioritizing bilingual education models and others emphasizing…

Language education policy has been a controversial and ongoing issue throughout the U.S., particularly in the state of Texas. This paper reports on a frame analysis of the five bills that amended the Texas Education Code to implement or expand bilingual education and English as a second language programs. Analysis focused on problems and solutions…

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), signed in 1965, was a pivotal civil rights law to address the dream of equitable education for all children on the mainland and in U.S. territories. The ESEA was followed by the Bilingual Education Act (BEA), signed by President Johnson in 1968. The BEA specifically addressed the necessities of…

The U.S. Bilingual Education Act (BEA) of 1968 was born of grassroots efforts by linguistically diverse communities and their allies. Advocates' goal was to achieve self-determination in the education system and beyond. However, the BEA was implemented as a title under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which mandated annual program…

In 1968 the Bilingual Education Act marked the first comprehensive federal intervention in the schooling of language minoritized students by creating financial incentives for bilingual education in an effort to address social and educational inequities created by poverty and linguistic isolation in schools. Since that time federal education…

Purpose: The purpose of this review article is to conduct a critical analysis of state-level policies focusing on the provision of speech-language therapy and special education to children and youth who are racialized emergent bilinguals (REBs) suspected or labeled as dis/abled. Method: We analyzed the state-level policies focusing on…