Advancing Achievement Through Biliteracy - Brief 1 - Statewide Trends in Bilingual Teacher Supply, Demand, and Assignment in California - February 2026

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bintang

Advancing Achievement Through Biliteracy presents key findings on statewide trends in California’s bilingual teacher workforce supply, demand, and assignment, based on WestEd’s 2025 analysis of publicly available data and related prior work. It frames the Global California 2030 goals, highlights progress toward 2,000 new bilingual authorizations annually, and explains why public data limits assessing impact and return on investment. The brief documents access concerns for English Learners and synthesizes projections from 2013–14 to 2018–19 staffing and multilingual learner enrollment.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Why Study the Supply and Demand of Bilingual Teachers in California?

Key Findings Summary

Findings From Statewide Analysis

Advancing Achievement Through Biliteracy Brief \#1: Statewide Trends in Bilingual Teacher Supply, Demand, and Assignment in California February 2026 California’s Global 2030 initiative sets forth ambitious goals for statewide bilingualism and biliteracy to advance student learning. Critical to achieving these goals is a strong and growing bilingual teacher workforce. This brief provides key findings from WestEd’s 2025 analysis of publicly available statewide data on supply and demand for California’s bilingual teacher workforce. These findings can inform statewide recruitment and retention efforts that support expansion of bilingual instructional programming. Bilingual programs deliver proven benefits, but bilingual teacher shortages limit their expansion in California. Findings from WestEd’s 2024 analysis of English Learner programs in California pointed to the importance of strengthening the bilingual teacher workforce through improved data systems, strategic planning, and pipeline investments. This brief examines bilingual teacher workforce supply and demand trends based on publicly available statewide data. The analysis finds that California has made notable progress toward its Global 2030 goal of 2,000 new bilingual authorizations each year. However, limitations in public statewide data make it challenging for state and local leaders to assess the return on their investments in the bilingual teacher workforce. Why Study the Supply and Demand of Bilingual Teachers in California? The benefits of bilingual programs and bilingual teachers are clear. Research demonstrates that bilingual instructional models are among the most effective strategies for improving literacy and long-term academic outcomes both for students who are Multilingual Learners and for monolingual students (Porter et al. , 2023; Williams et al. , 2024) . Moreover, a recent parent survey indicates strong demand for bilingual education, with families recognizing the academic, cultural, and economic benefits of developing bilingualism (Williams et al. , 2025) . While bilingual programs can benefit all students, the evidence is particularly compelling for students designated as English Learners; they tend to experience long-term benefits in English language development and other academic improvements (Steele et al. , 2017 ; Umansky & Reardon, 2014; Valentino & Reardon, 2015) . And yet, researchers, practitioners, and community members have raised important concerns about equitable access to these programs for students who are English Learners.1 California’s ambitious bilingual education goals depend on a clear understanding of bilingual teacher supply and demand. The Global California 2030 initiative aims to capture the benefits of biliteracy through expanded access to bilingual education, measured by growth in students achieving the State Seal of Biliteracy and increases in bilingual programs and teachers (California Department of Education [CDE], 2019) . Realizing this vision requires a strong and sustainable bilingually authorized (BLA) teacher workforce. Having public data on bilingual teaching staff and bilingual programs is critical to expanding the supply of BLA teachers. While much of this information is collected—locally, statewide, or both—relatively little information is accessible publicly. If made accessible, these data can reveal both the challenges to and opportunities in expanding the supply of these teachers and expanding access to bilingual programs. This is the first brief in the Advancing Achievement Through Biliteracy series. To learn more about state policy levers for building the workforce behind bilingual programs, seethe second brief. 1 For example, a recent report by the Century Foundation (Williams et al. ,2025) highlights the complexity of providing a strong, integrated bilingual program while also ensuring equitable access to these programs for students who are English Learners. This brief presents findin

FAQs

What problem does the brief focus on regarding bilingual education in California?

Bilingual teacher shortages limit the expansion of bilingual instructional programming. The brief emphasizes that equitable access for English Learners remains a key concern.

What progress did California make toward the Global 2030 goal?

California made notable progress toward the goal of 2,000 new bilingual authorizations each year, with increased annual BLA attainment in recent years.

Why is it difficult for leaders to judge the return on investments in bilingual teacher workforce initiatives?

Public statewide data lack critical indicators, including the number and assignment of BLA teachers, as well as data on bilingual programs and the students they serve.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bintang