WHY IS BILINGUAL EDUCATION IMPORTANT?

Over the past 10 years, the number of LEP students in the nation's schools has increased by 50%, to 3 million students - a figure that is expected to double in the next decade. Along with rising numbers of students, have been rising costs. The federal government spends an estimated $250 million a year on bilingual education, and large urban districts such as New York City, spend even more. But it is not just the large urban districts that face an increasingly diverse student population. Many suburban and rural schools now wrestle with the issue. In years to come, experts say that few districts will be left untouched by the nation's changing demographics.

While growing diversity would be enough to put bilingual education on the front-burner, other issues are prompting educators to examine the capability of their bilingual programs. A disproportionate number of LEP students experience school failure; among Hispanics, for example, there is a 40% dropout rate, a 35% grade retention rate, and a two-four grade level achievement gap. Standards-based reform also raises questions about program capacity. Today, it is neither socially nor economically acceptable to be content with minimal standards for any group. How to provide equal educational opportunity to all children, regardless of their English proficiency, will be an ongoing challenge for schools.

The most common approaches are the following:

• Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE), where children are provided with English language instruction, and academic instruction in their native language for some portion of the day. The goal is to prepare students for mainstream classes without letting them fall behind in subject areas. In theory, children transition out of these programs within a few years.
• Developmental Bilingual Education, which aims to preserve and build on students' native language skills as they master English. The goal is fluency in both languages.
• Immersion Programs, which offer instruction entirely in English and use the native language only for clarification. The goal is to mainstream students within one or two years. Immersion programs are typically combined with an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) pull-out component.

About one-quarter of LEP students, nationwide, are enrolled in TBE or developmental bilingual programs. Another half receives ESL instruction with minimal native language support. The remaining students - over 25% - receive no special services to teach them English or accommodate their linguistic needs.