Research shows prekindergarten enrollment translates into improved outcomes later in life. Washington, DC, has one of the most expansive prekindergarten programs in the country; for more than a decade, it has enrolled the highest share of 3- and 4-year-olds in its full-day program. 

Twenty of DC’s schools with prekindergarten offer dual-language programs (DLPs), in which students study content in two languages. With the goals of promoting bilingualism, biliteracy, high academic achievement, and cultural competency, DLPs have become increasingly popular over the past decade.

Evidence shows English language learners benefit most from DLPs, suggesting DLPs can promote prekindergarten access for families whose primary language is not English. They can also serve as an effective on-ramp into the public school system.

But in a recent study, we found differences in prekindergarten access based on the language of application.

• Families who applied in Spanish were far more likely than those who applied in English to apply to DLPs.
• Those who applied to PK3 (prekindergarten for 3-year-olds) in Spanish were slightly less likely to be matched to a school than those who applied in English.
• Families who applied to PK4 in Spanish were substantially more likely to be matched than families who applied in English.

What are the reasons for these disparities, and how can DC policymakers and advocates ensure prekindergarten DLP access is equitable for all children?

Not all families have equal access to DC prekindergarten DLPs

Historically, Wards 1 and 4 have had the largest shares of Spanish-speaking District residents; the wards had large immigrant populations, largely born out of an early abundance of affordable housing and preexisting networks. DC’s DLPs grew out of a need to address the growth of non-English-speaking communities of immigrants in the 1960s and 1970s.

Following a series of school closures in the 1990s, many DLP charter programs opened in Ward 5, and advocates in DC have consistently pushed for the creation of DLPs in Ward 4, where many Spanish-dominant families live. DLP charter schools have become popular among affluent white families in the city, as well.

There Is a Mismatch in Where Spanish-Language Applications Come From and the Location of Dual-Language Programs in DC

Source: 2015–20 My School DC lottery data for prekindergarten for both 3- and 4-year-olds and the My School DC school finder website.

Today, families completing applications in Spanish apply to DLPs more frequently than those applying in English, regardless of grade level, though they rank fewer schools than those applying in English. This pattern could reflect many realities facing families; for instance, challenges in existing schools' ability to accommodate their working hours, or in using the public transit system to access schools.

This finding is true, regardless of school location, in nearly all areas. We found families submitting in Spanish apply to a greater share of DLPs when they reside in wards where DLPs are located. This suggests DLP status and geographic proximity is important for some share of Spanish applicants.

Ranking fewer schools reduces the likelihood of a match, which suggests these families do not have equitable access to DLPs.

DLPs in Ward 5 are the exception. Families submitting in English apply to the same share of DLPs as those submitting in Spanish, and Spanish-language applicants in wards with DLPs do not apply more to those schools than those not residing in them.

Given the plurality of DLPs in Ward 5 (see table above) and the smaller number of Spanish applicants, English-language applications may be crowding out Spanish applications in this area. Unlike DC Public Schools, which allow DLPs to run lotteries such that they produce classrooms that have roughly equal shares of English and Spanish speakers, DC charter law prohibits charter schools from using an applicant’s language to inform their likelihood of assignment. This reduces the probability of Spanish-language applicants matching to charter DLPs by virtue of being pooled with a large share of English applicants.

How to help Spanish-applying families benefit from DLPs

Our research underscores that the existing supply of DLPs is insufficient for where Spanish-speaking families predominantly live, and the lotteries are designed such that Spanish-language applicants may be outnumbered by English-language applicants at newer DLPs. To address these barriers, policymakers and advocates can consider the following:

• assessing the use of language-specific lotteries to produce linguistically balanced classrooms in charter schools, which could also increase access to Spanish-speaking families in Ward 5, despite the increasing demand from English-speaking families
• increasing the supply of DLPs in Wards 1 and 4, which would increase the number of schools ranked on Spanish-language applications and thus their likelihood of receiving a match at a DLP, but challenges around staffing, especially regarding skilled bilingual educators, would also need to be addressed to implement this successfully

These solutions are likely not enough on their own to address differences in how students are matched to schools. Additional considerations include improving access to wraparound services like after-school child care that accommodates working families, and addressing transportation challenges that prevent access current offerings.

Matching to a school is simply one part of the broader process ensuring that students enroll in the school that best reflects their needs. Improving both the supply of bilingual programs and access to them will empower families to select the schools best equipped to serve them and their students.