Journal of K-12 Educational Research 25 Figure 1 Bilingual Programs in Texas Public Elementary Schools in 2022-2023 Table 1 Bilingual Programs in Texas Public Elementary Schools in 2022 −2023 Program type Enrollment count Program goal STAAR Approaches STAAR Meets Transitional Early Exit 111, 244 Immersion into Englishonly classroom within 2–5 years of enrollment 67% 36% Transitional Late Exit 27,066 Immersion into Englishonly classroom within 6–7 years of enrollment 68% 38% ESL ContentBased 140,672 Merges ESL instruction within content areas for 2–5 years 70% 39% Pull-Out ESL 465,538 English-only classroom with a focus on biliteracy in both the L1 and L2 English 63% 29% One-Way DualLanguage 184,230 EB-only classroom with a focus on biliteracy in both the L1 and L2 English 67% 37% Two-Way Dual Language 78,101 EBs and Native English Speaker classroom with a focus on biliteracy in both the L1 and L2 70% 40% Note. Adapted from “Creating a More Bilingual Texas” (Sikes et al., 2021) and Texas Education Agency 2022 −2023 STAAR Performance (TAPR) state report (Texas Education Agency, 2023). The integrated approach in a two-way dual-language program builds upon the theoretical framework of additive bilingualism (Lambert, 1973) and the linguistic interdependence hypothesis (Cummins, 1979, 1980). Students from diverse linguistic backgrounds can simultaneously develop proficiency in both languages while acquiring academic content knowledge at a commensurate pace. A two-way dual-language model leverages peer-to-peer interactions as a means of authentic language exposure and practice, enhancing both receptive and productive language skills in the target languages (Feinauer et al., 2013). However, as native their L2 skills must improve to enhance comprehension and understanding of the L2; otherwise, they will not experience full bilingualism. A well-designed two-way dual-language program must offer an equally robust Spanish L2 curriculum for native English speakers as it does an English L2 curriculum for native Spanish speakers. Bilingual Education Funding House Bill 3 recognized the need for more two-way duallanguage programs and provided funding incentives for both native English speakers and EBs to incentivize school districts to implement two-way programs. Bilingual programs require specialized curricula, resources, and certified teachers, making them more costly than monolingual programs that lack these needs. Texas allocates one of the lowest weighted bilingual funding rates nationally, offering only 10% for EB students (Sikes, 2022). However, Texas leads the nation as the first state to implement a 5% weighted bilingual allotment for nonEnglish learners participating in two-way dual-language programs (Sikes, 2022; Texas Education Agency, 2021). Before 2019, native English speakers in two-way programs received no funding, causing underfunding as half of the participants lacked financial support for essential program resources, discouraging districts, particularly smaller or rural ones, from expanding these programs.
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