Bilingual Education Critical to Student Success, Say Arizona Policymakers

Bilingual education has been under attack in this session of the Arizona legislature, with an anti-bilingual education bill dominating debate and emotions running high.

Legislative members of CPA’s Southwest Policy Leaders Forum (SWPLF) and community advocates met in Tempe, Arizona in May for a state roundtable to discuss proactive policy strategies that highlight the tremendous benefits of bilingual education. Participants noted that bilingual education is often falsely represented by opponents as a remedial program, obscuring the benefits children gain from mastering two languages, such as the advantage in competing in a global economy. Bilingual education, when taught by well-trained and well-compensated teachers, can have a very positive impact on a child’s self-esteem by validating both their language and their culture.

State Rep. Debra Norris, a Native American representing many Latinos, stressed the importance of different constituencies working together on common issues.

The SWPLF will hold future issue-oriented roundtables next fall in Texas and Colorado.