California must invest in a multilingual teacher workforce | Opinion
Nearly 40% of California’s students are multilingual learners, yet the state’s teacher workforce remains overwhelmingly monolingual and does not reflect the racial, cultural or linguistic diversity of the communities it serves. The disconnect is enormous and costly.
Research consistently shows that when students learn from educators who share their cultural or linguistic backgrounds, they feel more connected to school, achieve at higher levels and are more likely to see themselves as thriving future adults. They feel safer. They feel seen. And they succeed.
Despite this, California continues to underinvest in the multilingual teacher workforce needed to support nearly half of its P-12 students.
The result? Districts across the state — rural, urban, conservative and progressive — are unable to staff bilingual and dual-language programs, even as demand grows.
California has made progress since voters overturned Proposition 227 in 2016 (the proposition which effectively ended bilingual education in the state) and reopened the door for multilingual instruction. But demand for multilingual teachers still far exceeds supply.
Without targeted investment, districts across rural and urban California will continue struggling to staff dual-language programs, undercutting the state’s own commitments to equity and opportunity for all students.
As teacher educators working with schools statewide, we have heard directly from multilingual candidates who want to teach but find the pathway nearly impossible to navigate. Their barriers are not about motivation or talent, they are systemic.
One of our students, a bilingual paraprofessional, balances two jobs and childcare while trying to cover credential exam and application fees that add up to more than a month’s rent. Another student, a dual-language candidate eager to teach in Spanish, could not secure a student-teaching placement that valued his linguistic strengths.
In our meetings with Sen. Alex Padilla’s office, these aspiring teachers made clear that credentialing costs, unpaid residencies and limited multilingual placements routinely exclude educators our schools need most.
Meanwhile, recent moves by the Trump administration to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and eliminate federal programs designed to increase equity only deepen the urgency.
But there are three practical steps California can take now.
First, we must fund paid multilingual teacher residencies. Aspiring teachers should not have to choose between paying their bills and completing their preparation. Paid residencies would allow aspiring multilingual educators to learn alongside expert mentors without risking financial instability.
Second, we should expand the Golden State Teacher Grant to include programs preparing multilingual educators. Doing so would immediately widen access for thousands of candidates seeking to teach in multilingual or dual-language settings.
Finally, we must eliminate unnecessary credentialing fees. These costs disproportionately burden first-generation and low-income candidates — the very individuals who often bring the linguistic and cultural assets California classrooms desperately need.
These steps cost far less than chronic teacher shortages, constant turnover, higher absenteeism and the long-term economic losses that come when we fail multilingual learners year after year.
California is not starting from zero. Promising models already exist: California State University, Long Beach has built successful bilingual residencies that pay candidates as they learn. California State University, San Diego has created a transborder dual-credential model linking California and Mexican schools, so teachers can better understand the cultural and linguistic contexts of their students. And California State University, Fresno partners directly with local language communities to recruit multilingual candidates from the neighborhoods they will eventually serve.
These examples work, but without stable, statewide investment, they cannot meet the scale of the need.
To get there, universities and districts must co-invest in new multilingual teacher pathways, credentialing agencies must recognize multilingual expertise as a professional strength and policymakers must secure sustainable funding to reduce systemic barriers.
If educators, legislators and community partners act together, we can ensure that multilingual students across California learn from teachers who reflect and celebrate the linguistic and cultural richness of this state.
John Pascarella is a professor at University of Southern California and chief academic officer of USC Race and Equity Center. Karen Escalante is a professor at California State University, San Bernardino and president of the California Council on Teacher Education. Eduardo R. Muñoz-Muñoz, a professor at San Jose State University, Grace Cho, a professor at California State University, Fullerton, Stephanie Dewing, a professor at University of Southern California, and Anita Flemington, a professor at University of LaVerne, also contributed to this piece.