Improving the Educational Outcomes of California’s Immigrant Youth: A National Imperative

As California fights its way back after a historic recession, the state’s public education system is at a critical juncture. Sweeping reforms across California school districts, community colleges, and adult education programs hold significant implications for the state’s 3.3 million first- and second-generation immigrant young adults and their families. By virtue of sheer demographics, the outcomes of these youth—who include more than one-third of the country’s English Language Learner (ELL) students—will drive the success of national high school and college completion efforts and shape the record of the country’s success or failure in integrating today’s immigrants into the mainstream of society.

At present, California’s ELLs and immigrant youth (ages 16 to 26) lag behind their nonimmigrant peers at every stage of education. Foreign-born Latino youth, in particular, have lower high school completion and college degree attainment rates than any other group.

A new report from the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy examines the many factors contributing to these trends through a mixed-method, cross-systems analysis. The report identifies innovative state policies and local practices that promote the success of ELLs and immigrants, and provides recommendations for building on these efforts.

Christopher Edley, Jr., former Dean and Orrick Professor of Law, University of California Berkeley School of Law and Co-Chair of the recent National Commission on Education Equity and Excellence, and Shelly Spiegel-Coleman, Executive Director of Californians Together, will join the report’s authors for a discussion of their findings and the implications for national and state policy.