This article draws from historical, political, theoretical, and practice perspectives that provide a comprehensive analysis of how bilingual teacher education programs have strategically navigated around and through anti-immigrant sociopolitical ideologies to survive the incessant attacks on Latinx student populations, notably in the two decades…

CThe article is a study of Latino immigrant parents' agency toward primary language (L1) instruction in the face of restrictionist language policy. Certain attitudes and characteristics were associated with advocacy for Spanish L1 instruction. Interviews conducted in an urban California school district among parents with different background…

This position paper observes the impact of "Proposition 227", California's "English for the Children" initiative, on the professional development of teachers of English Learners. It draws on information I obtained while working as an evaluator of the California Teacher Institutes (CTIs), a network of institutes aimed to enhance…

In this article, I examine the implications of additive and subtractive conceptions for the education of English language learner (ELL) students. To understand how competing theories regarding the education of ELL students materialize into action, I examine select findings from one district's implementation of Proposition 227. Focusing on the…

This paper examines the choices parents have made regarding language of instruction in their children's classrooms, particularly in California after the implementation of Proposition 227. The data for this study are drawn from a 2-year ethnography of eight Latino families from an urban immigrant Latino community. The parents in the study held a…

California's Proposition 227 (1998) has affected the education of many English language learners (ELLs). However, the extent of Proposition 227's influence on special education planning and practice is unclear. ELLs who have moderate to severe disabilities face major communication obstacles. The present qualitative study looked specifically at the…

Examines the victory of California's Proposition 227, which mandated English-only instruction, and two viewpoints that reflect conflicting analyses of why Proposition 227 passed. To influence future decision making, bilingual-education advocates must learn to participate more effectively in policy debate without distorting research or denouncing…

A survey of 100 parents in a California school district bordering Mexico examined relationships between the bilingual program parents chose for their kindergarten and first-grade children and parental demographic factors. Parents placed their children in settings that mirrored home language use. Parents with a higher level of education were more…

Describes dual language instruction models, and presents a paradigm for examining congruence among theoretical models, teacher beliefs, and actual classroom practices to determine program effectiveness. Examples illustrate implementation pitfalls. Analysis of Proposition 227 finds it to be a decontextualized procedural model; it has an incoherent…

Numerous simultaneous educational reforms and limited data prevent drawing conclusions about the independent effects of California's Proposition 227, a 2-year-old English Only initiative. Achievement scores show little benefit for English learners. Observational data indicate that implementation of high stakes testing has encouraged teaching that…

A study of 8 California school districts immediately following passage of Proposition 227, and another study of 39 districts a year later interviewed personnel, principals, and teachers about implementation of the English Only initiative. Specific implementation strategies reflected schools' previous programmatic efforts for limited English…

Personnel at seven Northern California school districts were interviewed concerning implementation of Proposition 227. The disposition of district staff toward primary-language instruction and community attitudes influenced district policy; district decisions largely determined school policy; change occurred at all sites and was most evident in…

A qualitative study examined how three urban California school districts and teachers in three case study classrooms interpreted and implemented Proposition 227. School district implementation varied according to district language ideology. Nevertheless, English only policy and accompanying highly scripted reading reforms stripped teachers of…

Interviews with parents, teachers, and administrators of a California Bay Area elementary school explored the impact of Proposition 227 on parent involvement, student achievement, classroom instruction, and student and teacher emotions. Data indicate that an overemphasis on language of instruction overshadowed other critical issues such as…

An analysis of SAT-9 scores since passage of Proposition 227 indicates that scores increased for all students, not just for English-learning students; scores increased for most districts regardless of the programs implemented; it was not possible to isolate the impact of Proposition 227; and SAT-9 is not an appropriate measure for assessing…