“Having begun quietly in the 1980s and gained momentum in the 1990s, Latino opposition to native-language teaching programs is now publicly apparent” (Porter, 1998). 150 parents filed a lawsuit against Brooklyn public schools for keeping their Spanish-speaking children in segregated bilingual programs for 3-6 years more than they should have, against the State Education Law's, section 3204 (2), instruction that children must receive adequate English skills in order to have equal opportunity in the United States. The parents lost their case and were told that they had the right to enroll their children into non-bilingual classes; although, it is difficult to work around pressure from school staff to practice bilingualism.

Orange Unified School District asks to teach English in K-6th while using a small amount of Spanish (Porter, 1998). They were opposed by the Department of Education and many bilingual and educational organizations. After heavy critique from Latino activists and the departure of bilingual teachers, the Board of Education allowed them to attempt the English-language program for a year. Judge William B. Shubb states that "The alleged difference between two sound LEP [Limited-English Proficient] education theories—ESL [English as a Second Language] and bilingual instruction—is inadequate to demonstrate irreparable harm" (Porter, 1998). Orange was allowed to continue their program and Judge Ronald B. Robie rules that schools do not need waivers to provide an English-language program.

Ron Unz fought for the "English for the Children" initiative (also known as Proposition 227), in which immigrant children will be taught to acquire full English fluency in a rapid and effective manner in order to participate in the American Dream of economic and social advancement. The act would allow the people of California to have a say "on the language of public education[...] give preference to English-language programs for immigrant children, reduce the length of time children may remain in special programs[...]" (Porter, 1998). Because the Prop's main focus is to teach English to immigrant children, bilingual programs would only be available upon request.

I believe that the 1990s is an interesting transition period for bilingual education. In The Atlantic article that I read for my section, The Debate on Bilingual Education, I learned that in the past, teachers taught in various languages, including German, French, and Dutch. The switch to English was only enforced after the first World War. The trend of families desiring for their children to learn only English in schools, whilst heritage languages are taught at home, persists in the current century; this is evident in the documentary we had to watch for class, "Speaking in Tongues." Although Proposition 227 was amended into Proposition 58 in 2016, it's interesting to see how education and families treat bilingualism today compared to the past.