Latino parents and families of California’s K-12 English-learning students recently participated in a significant study to learn more about who dual language programs serve.
The Century Foundation – an independent think tank focusing on health care, education and economic research – conducted the poll, asking survey participants what they want out of dual immersion programs for students learning a secondary language.
English learners across the country have historically been excluded from such studies due to a lack of outreach, according to lead researcher Conor Williams.
“The big piece that was missing in this topic was a serious account of who was actually attending bilingual or dual language programs around the country,” he said. “Basically, nobody had any data.”
Researchers polled a thousand parents across California with respondents from three communities – Los Angeles, Sunnyvale and the Central Valley – to gain a deeper understanding from diverse communities with ranging economic statuses.
California is home to more than a million English learners. Nearly half of all students in the state have an immigrant parent, and about 40% speak a language other than English at home. In the Central Valley, a fifth of all K-12 students are learning English as a second language.
The poll solidified the benefit of bilingual learning across all groups, the overwhelming desire for bilingual education, and also served to debunk long held myths – particularly that Latino families were skeptical of dual immersion programs. It also raised concerns about equitable access to programs.
Williams said while the research is extremely clear that it’s good for everyone to learn another language, it’s “uniquely beneficial for young, multilingual, Spanish-dominant kids, English-learning kids to be in bilingual programming.”
The study urges local educators and state policymakers to invest more time, energy and funding into multilingual learning to boost student outcomes inside and outside the classroom.
School choice in the Valley
One of the main issues the study found was that many families had doubts they could secure bilingual learning opportunities for their children, because of where they lived.
“People said they don’t feel like they have a choice,” Williams said. “They said ‘(it’s) because of your ZIP code, where you live. That’s how the system works with the district. Maybe you could take them to a different school, if you can afford it.’”
While dual immersion programs in the central San Joaquin Valley have been increasing in popularity over the last few years, there are still gaps in access.
Fresno Unified, the state’s third largest school district, currently offers dual immersion programs across 21 campuses – about 20% of its schools – with plans to expand in the coming years. Bullard High School is launching its dual language program in 2026. Central Unified in Fresno and the Merced City School District are also increase their language offerings in the coming years.
But while some programs are growing, some parents who were polled said that the main barrier for them was the lack of dual language programs near them. Clovis Unified, which is considered one of the top school districts in the state, does not offer dual language programs – despite parents in the area pushing for bilingual programs.
“I know it goes depending on the area that you live in and which school they decide to go to,” one respondent said. “Living in the Clovis area, I’m going to have to be forced to send him to Clovis Unified School District school and I know they don’t offer dual learning, so that’s why I feel somewhat there isn’t a choice.”
Another common theme that came up during the polling was respondents saying they had heard of parents enrolling their students in schools outside their neighborhoods, using different addresses to get them inside dual immersion classes.
“Somebody would say, ‘Well…you can just not live in a place, and say you do,’” Williams said. “What only happened a few times was somebody saying they definitely did that. We had a lot of people saying it’s a thing they could do, with a wink. We didn’t have as many people admitting they had actually done it.”
‘Would it help my baby get a better job?’
The biggest finding the study solidified was an overwhelming interest in bilingual and dual language programs across California families from varying education levels and financial statuses.
Ninety-four percent of respondents with multilingual children from all three communities agreed bilingualism is an asset that can be used to help their kids in future educational and career opportunities and cultural preservation – debunking the common belief that Latino families are adverse to bilingual learning.
One parent in an English focus group said they don’t want their kids to be a ‘no sabo,’ meaning that they appear Latino but don’t speak or understand their cultural language.
Meanwhile, 55% of respondents with monolingual English-speaking children also agreed it was “extremely” or “very” important for their kids to become bilingual. But their reasoning, according to the data, skewed more in favor of the economic benefits rather than maintaining their cultural language.
For instance, one Fresno respondent said both their parents spoke Spanish in the home growing up but didn’t teach it to them. The respondent referred to themselves as a ‘light-skinned Mexican’ who wanted to learn more about their heritage.
“But at the same time, what is the benefit?” the respondent said. “I know a lot of people feel like the benefit of learning the language is for the culture. For me, I’m more so thinking, ‘Would it help my baby get a better job later on in life?’”
Existing research points toward bilingualism as a major benefit in problem-solving skills, improved memory, and increased mental agility – and Latino parents, according to this study, are acutely aware of what doors proficiency in multiple languages can bring their children in their futures.