A Rhetorical Analysis of Florida Schools District Board Meetings and the Impacts on ELL Students

• In Event: Examining Language Policies to Identify Opportunities for Equity

Abstract

This case study is a rhetorical analysis of the 2016 to 2021 Florida Public School (FPS) district board meetings. In this study, I analyze how FPS district board members use language to talk about English as a Second Language (ELL) students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. I examine how the FPS board members use rhetoric (logos, ethos, and pathos) persuasion strategies to make decisions about educational policies, programs, and practices towards emergent multilingual students and families and how it influences educational leadership and policies. Through Critical Language and Race Theory (LangCrit) lens, I investigate the short and long-term impacts of the FPS leadership and policies on K-12 emergent multilingual students and families.

Author

• Michelle Angelo-Rocha, University of South Florida