The Williams vs the State of California class action suit on behalf of poor children in that state argues that California provides a fundamentally inequitable education to students based on wealth and language status. This article, an earlier version of which was prepared as background to that case, reviews the conditions of schooling for English learners in the state with the largest population of such students, totaling nearly 1.6 million in 2003, and comprising about 40 percent of nation’s English learners. We argue, with evidence, that there are seven aspects of the schooling of English language learners where students receive an education that is demonstrably inferior to that of English speakers. For example, these students are assigned to less qualified teachers, are provided with inferior curriculum and less time to cover it, are housed in inferior facilities where they are often segregated from English speaking peers, and are assessed by invalid instruments that provide little, if any, information about their actual achievement. We end with suggestions for ways in which teachers, administrators, and policymakers can begin to address these inequities, even while legal remedies may remain in the distant future.

Proposition 227 limits instructional use of students' primary languages but allow s bilingual programs if adequate numbers of parents request an alternative to English-only instruction. Researchers interviewed district and school personnel at seven sites to determine influences on policy responses to Proposition 227 and observed the impact of these policies on classroom practice. The history of support for bilingual programs, disposition of district staff toward primary language instruction, and community attitude and involvement, influenced district policy. Researchers concluded that district decisions largely determined school policy ; policy responses varied to a surprising extent ; change occurred atall sites and was most evident in the clas sroom ; and Proposition 227 policy contributed to the existing incon sistency in programs for English learners.

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