Creating DLBE Programs that Center Equity in the Face of School Choice Policies

In this chapter, we explain how one trend in education – the growth of school choice policies – impacts another – the growth of dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs. We show how the intersection of these movements has created pressures and tensions for DLBE leaders across contexts, as well as consequences for which students DLBE programs serve and why. These pressures, tensions and consequences can in turn make equity for linguistically and racially minoritized families an increasingly elusive goal. Yet, as we highlight in this chapter, strong educational leaders with ideological clarity, or ‘a framework of thought that serves as an anchor and beacon that announces or denounces teaching for equity and social justice’ (Alfaro, 2019: 195), can navigate constraints and create programs and policies that serve marginalized students and communities.