IDRA Class Notes on Bilingual Education - issue 02 Separating fact from fiction about education. Informational series for business and community leaders, policy makers and members of the media.
Bilingual education is an investment that pays off.
Bilingual education pays off in terms of schools that are teaching more efficiently and taxpayer money that is saved. But this does not reflect the cost of bilingual education. It simply represents an estimate of the cost of educating those 2.3 million students whether or not they are taught in a bilingual classroom. Regardless of their language, all children need teachers, classrooms and books. Dealing with 180 languages could be impractical.