Informed Parent Consent and Proposition 227

Abstract

After the passage of Proposition 227 in California, the State Department of Education issued specific regulations for informing the parents of English language learners (ELLs) about program options so that they could decide, as the new law permits, whether to accept English language immersion or request a parent exception waiver. This study was conducted among parents in three geographically-distinct school districts which did their utmost to inform them. The study compared the responses of parents who requested waivers and bilingual education with those of parents who did not request waivers. Parents were asked for their level of agreement with factual statements on language acquisition/development and each program option (English language immersion, mainstream, and bilingual education). They also responded to open-ended questions, which were later categorized for analysis. The results clearly show that the best informed parents in an atmosphere of complete disclosure were those who chose a waiver and bilingual education.