Public opinion on bilingual education in Colorado and Massachusetts

In 2002, voters in Massachusetts and Colorado faced identical ballot initiatives to remove bilingual education programs from the public schools. The measure passed in Massachusetts and failed in Colorado. This paper investigates the debates over the issue in these two states. It provides insight into how people reason with respect to minority politics. It also helps to make sense of the states’ divergent outcomes. Content analysis of letters-to-the-editor reveals that voters are motivated by ethnic competition and fiscal concerns, as existing theories would predict. Additionally, citizens debate which kinds of programs work best for English learners and take stands on how these youngsters can be successful in life. The inter-state comparison reveals that a major factor distinguishing the two statewide debates was ethnic paternalism, a logic often used by members of ethnic majorities to justify restrictive policy decisions on the basis of what they think is best for the affected population. The analysis shows that themes related to doing what is best for English learners were significantly more salient in Massachusetts than Colorado. This finding implies that where public debate over this issue is framed in terms of helping minority youth, the fate of bilingual education is not secure.