This article analyzes the public rhetoric during the November 2002 vote over bilingual education in Colorado and Massachusetts. We argue that the neoassimilationist views displayed in both states represent a new step in the evolution of assimilation theory and ideology--one that has adapted to both the current immigrant environment and to…

Reviews the history of bilingual education in the United States from the 1974 Supreme Court ruling to the present. Concludes that federal policy must be flexible in allowing districts to select the program that best meets their needs. Discusses three specific programs. (JOW)

A conceptual framework was developed to analyze ideological debates about bilingual education in California and Colorado. A discussion of language as problem, as resource, and as right reveals how viewing Spanish as a problem enables devaluation of bilingualism and the linguistic capital of Latino immigrants, and the displacement of Latino parents…

Colorado's bilingual program, which allows Anglo children to participate on a voluntary basis, has been successful in increasing skills in English and in achievement areas measured by English standardized achievement tests, and in improving self concept, attendance, and parent participation. Opponents of bilingual education have claimed that it…