The Seismic Effect of the “English-Only” Era in California
A Raciolinguistic Perspective Towards a Community-Centered Bilingual Education
Keywords:
Bilingual Education, language ideologies, Teacher preparation, bilingual education, Spanish in the U.S.Abstract
This paper examines how the landscape of Bilingual Teacher Preparation (BTP) in California has morphed since the Lau vs. Nichols case. We explore the seismic effect the Lau case had in uncovering the role of whiteness, English hegemony, monolingual and neoliberal ideologies in the schooling experiences of immigrant students and how universities prepare bilingual teacher candidates. Within this evolving topography, it is key to understand how policies have guided BTP in pendular movements: forwards (AB 1329; Proposition 58) and backwards (Proposition 227) impeding a linear and assertive progress which created the stagnation of language policy that frames BTP from a raciolinguistic perspective (Rosa & Flores, 2017). We conclude presenting and critically analyzing the latest state mandate: the Bilingual Teacher Performance Expectations (BTPEs). By describing the California journey, we urge other states to reimagine the future of bilingual teacher education policies that honor the racial, cultural, and linguistic identities of multilingual students working in solidarity across ethnic and racial groups to transform bilingual education into a community-centered experience alongside families of color.
