Do State Policies Constrain Local Actors? The Impact of English Only Laws on Language Instruction in Public Schools

Melissa J. Marschall, Elizabeth Rigby and Jasmine Jenkins

Publius: The Journal of Federalism, vol. 41, issue 4, 586-609

Abstract: This study examines how instrumental and symbolic messages embedded in state law shape the practices of "street-level" bureaucrats. Specifically, we investigate whether passage of state-level English Only laws influences the way English language learners are instructed in local public schools. Using data on state English Only laws from 1987 to 2004 and school-level data from the National Center for Educational Statistics, we find that instrumental aspects of English Only laws serve to constrain, but not eliminate, schools' use of bilingual instruction, while those sending only symbolic messages are less constraining. Further, when state laws are vague in scope, adherence to the English Only law is dependent on the preferences of local actors, in this case Latino "cultural brokers" working in the public school system. Copyright , Oxford University Press.

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