So many foreign-born families have come to California that today one in four public school children cannot speak English well enough to understand what goes on in the classroom.
Experts say the lack of English skills is the single greatest educational challenge to the state.
The Examiner's study included dozens of interviews and a computer-assisted analysis of 802 school districts between 1990 and 1996. Suburbs and rural areas also are undergoing a demographic revolution. The growth rate was at least 100 percent in 272 of the districts. The largest number of limited-English students is concentrated in the lower grades, meaning the challenge will be with us for many years. The shifts will continue into the 21st century.