Families of English-language-learner students in Houston are less likely to take advantage of the district’s school choice options than other students’ families, finds a study from Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
During the 2011-12 academic year, 1 in 3 English-learner elementary students enrolled in a nonzoned school, versus roughly 46 percent for both former ELLs and those who were never classified as ELLs. High school participation gaps were larger: 18 percent of English-learners attended nonzoned schools compared with more than 43 percent of former ELLs and native-English speakers.
