The History of Bilingual Education in Denver: The Impact of Sustained Community Advocacy

• In Event: La Lucha Sigue: Linguistic Justice and Educational Transformation for Bi/Multilingual Learners

Abstract

Objectives or Purposes. Bilingual Education has been implemented in Denver since 1968. Overtime, bilingual education has been both popular and controversial, however, in this paper we will argue that its longevity in Denver is primarily due to the advocacy, activism, and tenacity of one community group known as the Congress of Hispanic Educators (CHE). The purpose of this paper is to first chronicle the advocacy of CHE across five decades, and to document the significance of community advocacy in combination with state and local mandates to ensure the continuity of bilingual programs. Since 1968 CHE has been instrumental in the development of bilingual programs and policies to secure funding for its first bilingual programs in 1968, for the passage of the state’s Bilingual Education Act in 1974, and for ensuring the continuation of bilingual education through legal action via court orders and consent decrees from 1984 to the present. Currently Denver has the greatest variety of bilingual programs in the state (Escamilla, Shannon & García, 2022).

Perspectives or Theoretical Framework. Social and linguistic justice frameworks guide the analysis of four historical eras in the history of bilingual education in Colorado and the US and are compared to initiatives and activities implemented by CHE to influence these eras in Denver. Social justice frameworks are ways of seeing and acting aimed at resisting unfairness and inequity while enhancing freedom and possibility. They are also seen as ways of healing intergenerational trauma. Concepts related to social justice include access to resources, equity, participation, diversity, and human rights (Longre & Scanlon, 2001). Linguistic justice theories argue that all languages and language varieties are equal and challenge systems and policies that uphold language and discourse discrimination (Baker-Bell, 2020). The four major eras analyzed were:
1. The Vision via Enabling Legislation – 1968-1981
2. The Equal Educational Opportunity Act and the Bilingual Court Order – 1984-1995
3. From Contempt of Court to Court Mandate to Consent Decree – 1999-2012
4. The Consent Decree Update – 2012-Present

Methods, Techniques, or Modes of Inquiry. Methods of inquiry included a comparative analysis of the historical time periods noted above to the activities and initiatives of the Congress of Hispanic Educators during the same period of time particularly as they relate to bilingual programs and practices in the district.

Data Sources, evidence, objects, or materials. Data sources included document analysis and review of research related to identified historical eras along with analysis of historical documents of the Congress for Hispanic Educators, and district initiatives related to bilingual education during each time period.

Results. Results indicate that, over time, CHE’s influence on policy and practice regarding bilingual education has been indisputable.

Scholarly Significance. Over time, little attention has been paid to the influence of sustained efforts by grassroots community organizations, such as CHE, on the implementation and continuity of bilingual programs across time. This paper documents the importance of groups such as CHE.

Authors

• Kathy Escamilla, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Tania Hogan, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Kim Strong, University of Colorado Boulder