Beyond Compliance: Systemic Contradictions in Implementing Equity Policy for Emergent Bilingual Learners in the Borderlands

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 1:45 pm - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: Navigating Borders: Learning, Equity, and Youth Agency in Transnational Contexts

Abstract

This qualitative study examines how K-12 educators in Texas’s borderland schools interpret and enact federal equity mandates for emergent bilingual learners (EBLs) with and without dis/abilities. Using Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), 44 teachers analyzed the 2015 Dear Colleague Letter from the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice, evaluating their districts and schools across ten compliance domains. A hybrid inductive–deductive analysis of their written reflections surfaced three systemic contradictions that undermine equitable implementation: chronic resource shortages, fragmented service structures, and the marginalization of multilingual families in decision-making. These findings explain why procedural compliance alone falls short of meaningful inclusion and underscore the need for context-responsive, structurally supported frameworks that elevate educator expertise while mobilizing local knowledge and community strengths.

Authors

• Sumin Lim, Hunter College

• Dosun Ko, Santa Clara University

• Yehyang Lee, Syracuse University