Davis School District officials are evaluating the future of two dual-language immersion programs in district schools because of low participation.
School representatives cited falling participation in the French dual-language program at South Davis Junior High School in Bountiful and limited longevity among participants in the Spanish dual-language program at Lincoln Elementary in Layton. Possible outcomes once the studies are complete, according to school officials, include closure of the programs or consolidation with similar programming in other schools.
District officials didn’t say how long the evaluations would take, but the talk at Lincoln Elementary has already prompted questions and concern from some teachers and parents, according to Michelle Barber, a member of the school board. She emphasized, though, that the evaluation process is just beginning and that there will be opportunities going forward for parents to offer feedback.
“Our support of students at Lincoln isn’t going to change,” nor will efforts to help Spanish-speaking students at the school learn English, she said. The program “just might look different than a traditional dual immersion program. ... I understand there’s so much heartache about that.”
Utah’s dual-language immersion school programs are the periodic focus of debate among state leaders and target of consolidation as enrollment numbers morph and change. Earlier this year, Utah lawmakers approved a measure, SB102, that calls for an evaluation of dual-language immersion programs in Utah public schools every five years. SB102 also calls for periodic review of several other public school initiatives, including concurrent enrollment and digital learning programming.
The measure “just sets up an education interim committee review of how these programs are functioning, joining 37 other programs in the minimum school program,” bill sponsor Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, said earlier this year. In the 2024-25 school year, 344 Utah elementary, middle or high schools offered dual language programming — 172 of them in Spanish and 99 in Chinese. Utah schools also offer dual-language immersion programs in French, Portuguese, German and Russian.
In the discussion on the issue at the Davis school board meeting last week, Chris Keime, the district’s secondary school director, noted falling enrollment in the South Davis Junior High French dual-language immersion program. There were 15 students in the program during the 2024-25 school year and eight for the coming year. Existence of a similar program at Mueller Park Junior High in Bountiful could figure in the numbers, he said.
Doug Forsgren, the district’s elementary school director, noted limited participation in the Spanish dual-language program at Lincoln Elementary. Research shows that a minimum of six years of participation in dual-language programming is needed “to show significant positive influence” on a student’s academic level. The average length of participation at Lincoln Elementary, though, is just two-and-a-half years.
Karl Bowman, world languages and dual-language immersion specialist for the Utah Board of Education, said the review of the many dual-language immersion programs in Utah schools per SB102 will start with the 2025-26 school year. The first report to state lawmakers will be due July 1, 2029.