District Leaders Constructing Language Policies: Do Shifting State Policies Lead to Shifting District Policies?

While significant shifts in California’s K-12 language policy move from a deficit orientation to an assets orientation toward English learners, school districts struggle to replicate the shift. This study compares state and district language policies to determine alignment and an orientation toward multilingual learners while highlighting district program leaders’ role in negotiating these policies. The study uses critical discourse analysis methodology of data from policy documents and interviews with district leaders to craft policy and leadership portraits. The analysis finds an orientation divide between assets-oriented state policy and deficits-oriented district policy, while the district leaders straddle the divide. The findings indicate a need for investment in leadership language orientation development to support the implementation of assets-oriented language policies.