Since Proposition 227 overwhelmingly passed in June 1998, essentially banning bilingual education in state schools, it's been all about learning English, first and foremost - but not in San Francisco. Nearly 30 percent of the city's English learners are in bilingual education programs, compared with five percent on average statewide, according to the most recent data available.

“Districts can get around the Prop. 227 ban by having parents sign a waiver authorizing their children to be in bilingual education programs,” reports SFGate. “Bilingual education students, who learn to read and write in their native language and then transfer those academic skills into English, are - after a slower start - as fluent by sixth grade as those focused on and immersed in English with minimal support in their home language, according to the study.”

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