Bilingual Teacher Licensure

The current state of bilingual teacher licensure and its history reflect the ongoing tension between the changing demographics of the public schools, the scholarly and research base for educating immigrant students, and national- and state-level shifts in policies governing the education of limited-English-proficient students, more aptly termed English language learners (ELLs). As the number of immigrant students in American public schools has increased, the definition of what constitutes a highly qualified teacher of students who speak languages other than English in the home has changed and evolved. It has done so through a growing body of research on teacher effectiveness and years of practical experience in the implementation of specialized programs of instruction for these students in schools throughout the nation. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 required that all students in the United States have a “highly qualified” teacher in the classroom, but the law did not define the qualifications needed for teachers to promote the academic and linguistic growth of students who are learning English. This responsibility was left up to the states acting through their licensure agencies and to institutions of higher education that offer teacher education programs.

A definition of highly qualified bilingual teachers is discernible in the scholarly research literature and is reflected in licensure policies in many states. However, the realities and practicalities of how to prepare and accredit bilingual teachers are often at odds with the theoretical and research base. The tensions between theory, research, and practice prompt the following questions and issues regarding bilingual teacher licensure: What areas of knowledge, skills, and attitudes are necessary for bilingual teachers to possess in order to be highly qualified to teach ELLs? Is there a common core of competencies that bilingual teachers share with all highly qualified teachers? If so, should bilingual teacher licensure be an “add-on” to a basic credential? If not, then should bilingual teachers be certified through different programs based on a different or separate set of standards and requirements? What level of proficiency in students' primary or native languages should bilingual teachers achieve to be effective teachers of ELLs?