An Assessment of the Influence of Proposition 227

Eugene E. García*

Julia E. Curry Rodríguez**

Sara Paredes,

Betty Pazmiño,

Tom Stritikus

Graduate School of Education

and

Chicano/Latino Policy Project

University of California, Berkeley

2420 Bowditch Street, MC: 5670

Berkeley, CA 94720-5670

Abstract:

The Chicano/Latino Policy Project (CLPP of UC Berkeley) initiated a research endeavor to assess the implementation of Proposition 227 in the fall of 1998. The research team has continued to gather information in the following areas: 1) How districts and schools addressed the provisions of Proposition 227. 2) How such provisions affected teachers, students, and instruction.

The research team has collected information through interviews on three distinct levels. In each of the eight participating districts, teachers, principals, and district personnel were interviewed. To date, the team has finished district and principal level interviews and will complete all teacher interviews by June. Initial data analysis offers a window into the ways that schools across California are being affected by Proposition 227.

Preliminary review of the data indicates that districts made decisions about Proposition 227 based on the existing state of the their bilingual programs. We have found three distinct courses of action: 1) Districts with strong bilingual programs tended to pursue parental waivers which allowed them to legally maintain aspects of their existing program. 2) Districts whose bilingual programs may have only existed in name were more likely to adopt the English Only/Immersion provisions outlined by Proposition 227. 3) In some cases, district wide decisions regarding the implementation of the requirements of Proposition 227 were left up to individual schools.

The research team is currently analyzing the data gathered from the teacher interviews. Initial analysis suggests that teachers received limited training for new programs created by Proposition 227. Teachers reported a host of reactions to the new law including resistance, clarity with regard to instructional mission and purpose, and anxiety.

*E-mail: egarcia@socrates.berkeley.edu, ** E-mail: cscurry@uclink4.berkeley.edu.

An Assessment of the Influence of Proposition 227:

District/School Level Analysis

The Chicano/Latino Policy Project (CLPP of UC Berkeley) initiated research to assess the implementation of Proposition 227 begun in the fall of 1998. The research team has continued to gather interview data particularly related to how districts responded to the provisions of Proposition 227. Eight districts, selected for geographical representation in the state and representing both urban and rural school districts, participated in the study. Interviews were conducted with district level personnel who were charged with implementation of Proposition 227 and related programs that were serving language minority students in their respective districts. In addition, principals of two schools in each district were interviewed. The following is a preliminary outline of our findings in this policy implementation area:

All districts and schools reported implementing 227 as prescribed by the California State Department guidelines and related actions of the California State Board of Education (8 of 8 districts, 16 of 16 schools).

Districts reported substantial pressures and confusion in developing an implementation a plan prior to the beginning of the 1998-99 school year.

Districts with long-standing and district level supported bilingual program policies tended to pursue parental waivers which allowed them to legally maintain aspects of their existing programs (3 of 8 districts, 6 of 16 schools).

In these districts, an extensive district-wide effort was mounted to secure the necessary waivers at each school. Letters from the Superintendent or district level staff were sent to each school principal requesting their urgent attention to implementing the parental waiver process—including letters to parents—translated in appropriate language, inviting parents to school level meetings.

Districts whose bilingual programs were on limited standing in the district were more likely to fully implement the English Immersion provisions of Proposition 227 switching to an English Only/Immersion model for language minority students. (2 of 8 districts, 4 of 16 schools)

In these districts, a minimal district-wide effort was conducted to secure waivers. Schools were requested to send information home regarding the implementation of 227—no parent meetings were suggested and letters were sent only in English.

Decisions regarding the implementation of the requirements of Proposition 227 were left to individual schools (3 of 8 districts). Individual schools were required to seek waivers and to report their implementation of Proposition 227 to the district.

Schools with long-standing bilingual program staffed by B-Clad teachers tended to pursue parental waivers that allowed them to legally maintain aspects of their existing programs. (3 of 16) Principals and teachers played an important role in securing waivers. Teachers reported that the 30-day provision was counter-productive.

Schools whose bilingual programs were not fully staffed and implemented or were already implementing English Language Development (ELD) programs were more likely to fully implement English Immersion provisions specified in Proposition 227 switching to an English Only/Immersion/ELD model for language minority students. (3 of 16 schools)

General Finding: Previous policies regarding the use of bilingual education strategies were adapted to conform to Proposition 227 and related program practices were not significantly affected by those adaptations.

An Assessment of the Influence of Proposition 227:

Teacher Level Analysis

To understand how the implementation of Proposition 227 affected teachers, the CLPP initiated research project interviewed a total of 32 teachers of language minority students. In each of the eight participating districts, four teachers—two per school—were interviewed. Teachers were selected for participation in the study based upon principal referal. The following is a preliminary outline of teacher reaction as it relates to the implementation of Proposition 227.

Sue Me

A group of teachers, particularly in districts and schools that pursued parental waivers as a response to Proposition 227, took outwardly defiant and resistant stances to the new law. Teachers in this category reported civilly disobedient stances to provisions of Proposition 227 which limited primary language instruction proclaiming that they would rather go to jail than switch to an English Only model. Teachers that reported this stance worked in school contexts which had high degrees of collegial and parental support for primary language instruction.

Clarification

In some cases, district and school implementation of Proposition 227 served to clarify the way teachers conceived of their main purpose in the classroom. Teachers in this category reached two divergent conclusions:

I know what I need to do—"Push English."

For some teachers, Proposition 227 was an outside influence that helped clarify their secret doubts about native language instruction. These teachers saw the new law in a positive light and credited Proposition 227 with helping them clarify their work with non-English speaking students. They felt the public had sent a message—a message they were happy to incorporate into their teaching.

I know what I need to do—"Primary language instruction."

Many teachers in districts and schools that maintained their bilingual programs rejected the public intrusion into their classrooms. The passage of Proposition 227 and the fight over its implementation worked to strengthen teachers’ commitments to bilingual education. Despite deepened personal commitments to primary language instruction in their own classrooms, these teachers expressed concern over the political climate toward the education of language minority students.

Anxiety and School Climate Change

In districts that fully implemented the English Only/Immersion provision of Proposition 227, some teachers reported anxiety based upon fear of the "Language Police." These teachers report feeling under constant pressure to remain consistent with instructional practice outlined in their districts implementation plans.
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