In this article, the authors review the antecedents, analyze the evolution, and draw recommendations for educational policies in the regions of California and Catalonia over the last 50 years, especially regarding bilingual education. This analysis is necessary due to the size, representativity, precociousness, and success of bilingual policies enacted in these two regions. The bilingual policies enacted in both regions depict a story of an unequal combat of monoglossic approaches to language education, spearheading educational change for many decades and becoming national beacons of enhanced rights for multicultural children.