Contested Communities in a Debate Over Dual-Language Education: The Import of “Public” Values on Public Policies

This study examines how public debate can shape school district policy. Using qualitative methods and an interdisciplinary framework that weaves an interpretive approach to policy implementation with the language policy and planning literature, the analysis demonstrates that immigrant voices were mostly absent in a debate over a new dual-language program. Instead, English-dominant participants alluded to various “community” values and persuaded policy makers to implement dual-language classes throughout the district rather than in sites favored by policy advocates, including immigrant families. The article concludes that language policy implementation is a value-laden process in which public deliberation reflects dominant cultural “discourses,” which can shape what a policy ultimately becomes.