Advancing Achievement Through Biliteracy - Brief 2 - State Policy Levers to Support a Strong and Sustainable Bilingual Teacher Workforce in California

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bintang

Advancing Achievement Through Biliteracy presents California’s Brief #2 on policy levers to strengthen a strong, sustainable bilingual teacher workforce. Grounded in evidence supporting bilingual instructional models for literacy and long-term outcomes, it summarizes findings from a statewide BLA workforce supply-demand analysis and a Kern County regional planning pilot. The brief highlights barriers from fragmented educator data systems and a lack of updated public assignment and retention reporting, limiting leaders’ ability to plan, assess ROI, and expand bilingual programs.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Key Learning From State and Regional Efforts

Fragmentation of educator data systems limits assessment and response

Lack of public linkage between BLA credential growth and bilingual classrooms

Advancing Achievement Through Biliteracy Brief \#2: State Policy Levers to Support a Strong and Sustainable Bilingual Teacher Workforce in California February 2026 California’s Global 2030 vision calls for universal bilingualism and biliteracy, grounded in evidence that bilingual instructional models are among the most effective strategies for improving literacy and long-term academic outcomes for both Multilingual Learners and monolingual students. Expanding access to these programs is therefore not an enrichment goal—it is central to the state’s strategy for accelerating student achievement. Realizing the state’s vision requires a strong and sustainable bilingually authorized (BLA) teacher workforce. Districts cannot sustain or expand bilingual instructional This is the second brief in the Advancing Achievement Through Biliteracy series. The findings from a statewide BLA workforce analysis, which are referenced throughout this brief, are described in greater detail in the first brief. programs without effective systems in place to prepare, place, and retain BLA educators. To understand the systemic conditions needed to grow this workforce, WestEd conducted a statewide analysis of BLA workforce supply, demand, and assignment trends and a regional BLA workforce planning pilot in Kern County (see box) . Together, the analysis and pilot efforts illuminate the structural barriers that limit bilingual workforce growth and the conditions required to meet broad demand for bilingual programs. The regional BLA workforce planning pilot brought together county, district, and educator preparation program partners in Kern County for a series of planning workshops in 2025 to examine recruitment and retention data and identify workforce strategies for strengthening the BLA workforce in support of implementing and scaling bilingual instructional programs. This brief summarizes key points learned from the statewide analysis and the regional pilot. The brief then identifies state policy levers that can be used to strengthen data systems, understand and address BLA educator recruitment and retention barriers, and build sustainable infrastructure to support the bilingual educator workforce that California needs in order to expand access to bilingual programs that improve student achievement. Key Learning From State and Regional Efforts 1. The fragmentation of California’s educator data systems limits state and regional leaders’ability to fully assess the return on investments in the bilingual educator workforce and address educator shortages that undercut student achievement. State learning: Teacher workforce data are dispersed across state agencies and are reported inconsistently, with limited reporting that is specific to bilingual teacher preparation, assignment, or retention. As a result, state leaders cannot readily assess the full impact of recent investments or monitor progress toward biliteracy or bilingualism goals that directly advance student learning. (See the Appendix for a table detailing the relevant data that are available at the state and regional levels. ) Regional learning: In the pilot, regional partners confronted the same fragmentation. Answering basic questions about bilingual workforce supply, shortages, or retention required manually collecting and reconciling data from multiple state and local systems such that essential workforce insights remained out of reach, even with extensive effort and technical support. Impact: Without current, connected data, districts and educator preparation programs cannot forecast bilingual teacher demand, align preparation with local needs, or plan for sustainable program growth. Producing actionable BLA workforce insights is unduly burdensome—leaving local leaders without the means to plan effectively for bilingual program growth and limiting expansion of potentially high-impact bilingual programs that advance student achievement. 2. California does not publicl

FAQs

What is the purpose of Brief #2 in the Advancing Achievement Through Biliteracy series?

It summarizes key statewide analysis and a regional pilot, then identifies state policy levers to strengthen data systems and address BLA educator recruitment, retention, and infrastructure needs in California.

How does fragmented educator data affect the bilingual teacher workforce?

Data are dispersed across agencies and reported inconsistently, preventing leaders from fully assessing investments, shortages, and progress toward biliteracy and bilingualism goals.

What key statewide blind spot is noted regarding BLA credential attainment?

Public reporting has not been updated to show whether BLA credential growth translates into more bilingual classrooms, nor to clarify recruitment and retention trends, leaving uncertainty about ROI and demand.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bintang