DLIG: Executive Summary 2026 - Legislative Report

California Department of Education
Report to the Legislature: Dual Language Immersion Grant

Executive Summary

Authorized under Assembly Bill 130 (Statutes of 2021), the Dual Language Immersion Grant (DLIG) provided $10 million over three years to support the establishment and expansion of dual language immersion (DLI) programs that integrate academic content and language development for English learner (EL) and non-EL students. In November 2022, the California Department of Education (CDE) awarded DLIG funds to 27 local education agencies (LEAs), supporting expansion across 54 school sites and the creation of 291 new DLI classrooms serving students from transitional kindergarten (TK) through high school in Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, and Mandarin programs.

DLIG investments resulted in substantial gains at the programmatic, instructional, and student levels. LEAs expanded access by opening new sites, adding grade levels, and strengthening TK–grade 12 pathways, including secondary content courses taught in a language other than English, also known as the partner language. Strong family demand, reflected in full enrollment and waitlists, supported program sustainability. Instructional quality improved through targeted professional learning for teachers and administrators, job-embedded coaching, and collaborative curriculum development, alongside strengthened systems such as Dual Language Master Plans, biliteracy pathways, aligned pacing guides, and language allocation plans. Students benefited from earlier and more sustained bilingual instruction, demonstrating improved literacy development in both languages, stronger academic language use, and increased engagement and confidence. Despite challenges related to staffing, curriculum availability, and maintaining coherence during rapid expansion, districts emphasized that DLIG funding enabled them to build durable instructional systems and leadership capacity. Collectively, the grant expanded equitable access to multilingual education for students statewide and positioned 27 districts to sustain and grow high-quality DLI programs that support academic achievement, biliteracy, and long-term student success.

This report can be found at the CDE DLIG web page. To obtain a copy of this report, please contact the Multilingual Support Division, Language Policy and Leadership Office, by phone at 916-319-0845 or by email at LPLO@cde.ca.gov.

Report to the Legislature (DOCX)