In the Arid Zone

This article presents a variety of issues related to the effects of restrictive language and educational policies that ultimately limits important resources for English language learners (i.e., services, funding, time, and information). The authors spotlight the state of Arizona as an unfortunate case of language control through policies, which has the promise of being replicated in other areas of the United States. As these forms of control make their way into everyday classroom life, English language learners are further stripped from essential educational opportunities when denied the right to draw on their own social, cultural, and linguistic resources for learning.