The Education of Limited English Proficient Students in California Schools: An Assessment of the Influence of Proposition 227 in Selected Districts and Schools

Abstract

Two separate but interrelated studies are reported regarding the implementation of Proposition 227 in California. The first “in-the-field” pilot study was conducted during a period of eight months after the passage of Proposition 227 in June 1998. The pilot study consisted of eight school districts selected in 1998–99 from a statewide group involved addressing issues of Proposition 227 implementation. The second study took place in 1999–2000. The purpose of this study was to gather information regarding the implementation of Proposition 227 a year after its passage from a more representative sample of districts throughout the state.

The data from first and second year studies provides documentation of local policy articulations related to the specific program implementation of Proposition 227. In general, sampled districts, schools, and classroom teachers have not ignored Proposition 227. Its implementation, however, has not produced a “sea of change” in programmatic efforts for LEP students nor any marked differential achievement gains on standardized exams. Instead, previous programmatic efforts seem to dictate the specific implementation strategies regarding the new state mandate, and ELL students showed similar patterns of test achievement when compared to non-ELL students.