❚ Viewpoints: Will Arizona repeal its English-only education law?
Repealing the law had strong bipartisan support in the Arizona House but never got a vote in the Senate. I’m working to change that this year.
In the two decades since Arizona passed its English-only education law, tens of thousands of multilingual students across our state have been denied the kind of instruction that would prepare them for success in school and in life.
This coming legislative session, we can turn that around.
When Proposition 203 passed in 2000, English-learner (EL) students were no longer allowed to receive any instruction in their native language during the process of acquiring English. This led to other policies that set our multilingual students back, including one that required EL students to receive English instruction in four-hour blocks every day.
While the intent was to support English acquisition, it has resulted in EL students missing out on other subjects that make up a well-rounded education, like art, math, social studies and
science. It has also prevented opportunities for our EL students to interact organically with their native English-speaking peers.
Earlier this year, the Arizona Legislature took a major step in the right direction by rolling back the four-hour block requirement to two hours, providing more flexibility in how schools provide instruction to EL students. But the original “English-only” law remains on the books, and its effects continue to impact Arizona’s multilingual students.
Arizona is just one of a handful of states to have passed an “English-only” education law, and we’re the last one still following it. Massachusetts and California repealed their versions in recent years, leaving us as the only state with a rigid law that segregates and disadvantages EL students.
A full repeal of “English-only” will require voters to weigh in again, and they should. After 20 years, it is clear this approach has not worked.
In 2018, only 47% of our state’s 83,000 EL students graduated high school in four years. That’s nearly 20% below the national average for EL students, and more than 30% below Arizona’s general student population.
Arizona’s EL students also score lower than the general population on our state’s standardized test, AzMERIT, with just 5% passing the English reading portion and 9% passing the math portion in 201819.
We should be clear that these results are not because our EL students aren’t capable or smart enough to succeed. It’s because we’re not teaching them the right way.
Under Arizona’s English-only law, EL students are supposed to spend one year in Structured English Immersion classes until they demonstrate proficiency in English.
But with this current model, that is less effective for language learning. And because students are not supported in their native language as they learn English, they often spend more than one year in these classes trying to get on track.
Here’s the good news: we know which instructional models work best for students who are learning English. Research shows that bilingual or dual-language programs that provide instruction in both a student’s native language and in English are most effective in building English proficiency.
One long-term study released in 2014 by researchers at Stanford University showed that EL students who received instruction in two languages eventually surpassed students who learned in monolingual environments, both academically and linguistically.
Another study by the Rand Corp. showed that EL students assigned to dual-language programs reached English-proficiency faster on average than their peers learning in a monolingual environment.
And the benefits of bilingual education aren’t just limited to students who are learning English. The Rand study conducted in Portland Public Schools – which has offered dual-language programs since 1986 – showed that even native English-speaking students randomly assigned to dual-language programs outperformed their peers on state standardized tests.
I can speak firsthand on this topic because I participated in the Portland Public Schools’ program and received instruction in both Japanese and English starting in kindergarten. The experiences and skills I gained through this program have served me throughout my life and cemented my belief that multilingualism is an asset – not a deficit.
I observed that again earlier this fall as I visited schools in Santa Cruz County, a place where multilingualism is the norm. Situated along the US-Mexico border, students in Santa Cruz County grow up valuing both languages and cultures in their community.
Nogales Superintendent Fernando Parra credits his district’s 98% graduation rates in part to the community’s acceptance and celebration of multilingualism and multiculturalism.
To multilingual and multicultural communities like Nogales, as well as our state's many Native American communities, the “English-only” law is more than just ineffective.
It's offensive.
By prioritizing English alone, we devalue and disrespect the native languages of thousands of Arizona students when, really, we should be taking the opportunity to preserve and revitalize these languages for generations to come.
Schools across the state should have the flexibility to instruct their students in a way that builds their success, and if we don’t move in a direction that’s supported by evidence and research, we will continue to fail our EL students.
But if we allow schools to provide them with research-backed models like duallanguage programs, the ripple effects will benefit our entire state, potentially increasing our high school graduation rates and our standardized test scores – while also building a multilingual, 21st century workforce.
Luckily, a repeal has bipartisan support.
The Arizona House of Representatives voted 59 to 1 last session to refer the issue to the ballot. Unfortunately, the Senate did not bring it to a vote.
One of my predecessors, former Superintendent Lisa Graham Keegan, said, “The nonsense that occurs when we deny children the opportunity to use and develop their native language can be both demoralizing and counterproductive. Our best examples of teaching English well do so with great respect to, and use of, the native language.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Next year, let’s reverse two decades of misguided policy and finally repeal this law. Let’s give our students who are learning English the chance at success they deserve. Let’s use data and research to guide our policies.
And let’s value and celebrate the diversity of language and culture in our great state.