New Report Maps Barriers to Secondary Bilingual Education, Calls for Coordinated State and District Action

WASHINGTON, DC — More than 2.3 million English Learners (ELs) are enrolled in U.S. secondary schools, and in states such as California nearly 43 percent of all ELs are in grades 6 through 12. Yet bilingual education programs, which have been credited with strengthening language skills and academic outcomes for ELs, remain heavily concentrated in elementary grades, leaving many older multilingual learners without a clear path to building proficiency and mastering grade-level content while meeting graduation requirements.

A new Migration Policy Institute (MPI) report, Paving the Way for Secondary Bilingual Education Programs: An Analysis of Policy and Practice, examines the barriers that have kept bilingual programs from taking root in middle and high schools, as well as the features that support successful implementation and sustainability in places where programs exist. The analysis draws on interviews with bilingual education policy experts, teacher preparation faculty and district leaders in California, Illinois, New Mexico and New York.

The authors, Victoria Kim, Lorena Mancilla and Gloria Choi of MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, find that secondary schools operate under a different set of constraints than elementary settings, where most bilingual programs are concentrated. Individualized student pathways, specialized content offerings, graduation and course requirements, master schedules and specific teacher credentialing requirements all complicate efforts to extend elementary models upward. 

The report identifies three integrated, interdependent areas of program success: policy, capacity and perseverance; planning and partnerships; and pathways and pipelines. The report discusses how these can be built out with clear, actionable policies and dedicated funding; leaders with expertise in bilingual education and the determination to translate policy into practice; proactive planning across feeder schools and engagement with students and families; and sustained investments in well-designed bilingual teacher preparation programs, high-quality instructional materials and workable student schedules.

The report calls for coordinated, system-wide action and offers recommendations for policymakers, state education agencies and district leaders, including that they:

• Invest in and develop stable state and district policies for secondary bilingual programs, including accountability structures, technical assistance and dedicated funding streams that are not tied solely to EL classification.
• Translate policy into practice by reviewing existing policies for hidden barriers, such as rules that unintentionally penalize students for taking content courses in a partner language and publish clear implementation guidance for districts.
• Address the unique challenges and opportunities of secondary schools and integrate bilingual coursework in core subjects to prevent students from having to choose between required bilingual coursework and the electives that interest them.
• Build pipelines for development of the full ecosystem of bilingual program staff, including counselors, administrators, paraprofessionals and community liaisons, not just classroom teachers.

"The pathway forward for secondary bilingual education programs will therefore require system actors to demonstrate persistence and patience," the report notes. "The road ahead will not be easy, but the benefits that bilingual education promises students and their communities make the effort worthwhile."

Read the report here: www.migrationpolicy.org/publication/secondary-bilingual-education.