Federal Head Start programs currently support bilingual instruction for students who speak languages other than English, grounded in decades of research demonstrating that English learners develop proficiency most effectively when their home language is also cultivated. A proposed rule change would mandate English-only instruction and services instead, citing alignment with a recent executive order establishing English as the nation’s official language.
Martha Hernandez, executive director of Californians Together, an advocacy coalition focused on multilingual learner education, outlined concerns about the shift. She noted that effective programs for dual-language and multilingual learners incorporate students’ home languages into instruction or provide home language support. Under the proposed rule, these supports would be removed, representing a significant departure from current practice.
Hernandez emphasized that home language should be viewed as an asset rather than a deficit to address. An assets-based approach recognizes the linguistic resources children already possess and builds English proficiency upon that foundation. The proposed change would shift toward a deficit-based model focusing on what children do not yet know in English, potentially signaling to families that their home language may be harmful to their child’s education.
Home language serves critical functions in family life, enabling parents to share stories, explain complex concepts, build vocabulary, sing songs, and transmit cultural knowledge most effectively. Hernandez cautioned against policies that discourage the very language in which parents can have the richest conversations with their children.
Hernandez referenced California’s experience implementing English-only instruction in K-12 schools from 1998 to 2016. She argued that more English exposure alone does not automatically produce stronger English proficiency. Instead, success should be measured not by how quickly children abandon their first language, but by whether they develop strong English skills, literacy, academic achievement, bilingualism, and connections to family and culture. She rejected what she characterized as a false choice between English proficiency and home language development, asserting that supporting home language does not delay English learning.
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