The Politics of Latino Education Policy, 1968-present

Jason Casellas

I argue that because of internal and external lack of organization, the creation of majority minority districts, and increasing partisan polarization, Latinos have been left behind in terms of favorable educational policy reforms since 1968. I examine responsiveness to Latinos on education policy by analyzing major congressional votes since 1968, including NCLB and other major bills dealing with Latino education policy. I show that the Latino population in a congressional district makes little to no difference in voting on bills that would ostensibly benefit Latinos. The key interest groups pushing for the Bilingual Education Act were the NEA and other teachers’ unions. Latino civil rights groups were absent from many of these public policy debates, and the few Latino elected officials at the federal level were remarkably divided on whether to support the legislation. Partisanship has also prevented educational reform: Democrats have arguably taken Latino votes for granted, and the Republicans have largely ceded the Latino vote to the Democrats. This prevents any sort of attentiveness to the most pressing issue affecting Latinos; namely, education.

About Jason Casellas

Jason Casellas is an Assistant Professor of Government and Mexican American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He specializes in American politics, with specific research and teaching interests in Latino politics, legislative politics, and public policy. He is the author of Latino Representation in State Houses and Congress (New York: Cambridge University Press.) He is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including a Princeton President's Fellowship, an American Political Science Association Fellowship, a Ford Motor Company Fellowship, the Samuel DuBois Cook Postdoctoral Fellowship at Duke University, and a United States Studies Centre Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Sydney (Australia). He is also a member of the Texas Advisory Committee of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. His work has appeared in the Journal of Politics, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, Aztlán: Journal of Chicano Studies, and the Journal of California Politics and Policy.