A coalition of education advocates is asking California to explicitly include “Black English” in the state’s Promoting Equitable Early Learning and Care For Dual Language Learners program. The request, led by Black Californians United for Early Care and Education (BlackECE), aims to secure recognition, resources and teacher training for young Black children who speak African American Vernacular English (AAVE).
The effort frames this as both linguistic justice and a practical classroom step: naming Black English in state guidance could change how programs train teachers, design curriculum and identify children for language supports.
What BlackECE is proposing
BlackECE is urging the state to add Black English to the 2020 initiative Promoting Equitable Early Learning and Care For Dual Language Learners. The coalition says the move would acknowledge Black English within a program designed to promote biliteracy and multilingual proficiency for young children.
The workgroup described on the coalition’s site brings together BlackECE with partners including Californians Together, Catalyst California and Early Edge. The coalition says the change would challenge harmful language hierarchies and affirm Black English as part of California’s multilingual landscape.
What is Black English (AAVE)
Black English — most commonly called African American Vernacular English or AAVE — is described in scholarly literature as a systematic dialect with distinctive phonological, syntactic and lexical patterns. ScienceDirect defines AAVE as a systematic dialect with consistent grammatical, phonological and pragmatic features that distinguish it from other varieties of English while following its own internal rules.
Academic descriptions note features such as the invariant “be” to mark habitual actions (as in “She be working”), zero copula in some contexts (“They happy”) and phonological patterns like consonant cluster simplification. BlackECE materials cite everyday examples such as “She be working,” “They happy,” and regional expressions like “bes’ friend” to show how rule-governed patterns appear in children’s speech.
Voices from the coalition
Advocates have described the proposal in personal as well as policy terms. Ashley Williams, a BlackECE co-founder, told Fox News she was teased as a child for “talking white” and said she does not want Black children to feel shame for their speech.
Xigrid Soto-Boykin, an early childhood language expert, told PBS/KQED that discussions of multilingual learners often omit African American English speakers. “We completely miss this subgroup of children that could also benefit from their language backgrounds to be sustained,” she said, arguing that their language can be leveraged for learning (PBS/KQED).
Coalition materials from BlackECE emphasize identity and inclusion, arguing that recognition in state programs affirms children’s linguistic and cultural backgrounds rather than treating home language varieties as deficits.
Policy and classroom implications
Adding Black English to the state’s dual language learners program would have concrete implications for classrooms and policy. Advocates point to teacher training, curriculum guidance and resource allocation as likely areas of change.
In practice, recognition could expand professional development so educators learn to distinguish dialect features from speech-language disorders and to use students’ home varieties as instructional bridges. Examples of potential teacher training modules include: identifying AAVE grammatical patterns versus developmental delays, using comparative contrastive analysis to teach Standard English conventions alongside AAVE, and designing inclusive storytime and assessment practices that validate home language.
Assessment changes could mean updating screening tools and referral guidelines so children who speak AAVE are not misidentified for speech-language intervention simply for using dialect features. Curriculum and resource allocation could prioritize bilingual and dialect-responsive books, multilingual labeling in classrooms, and coaching on culturally sustaining pedagogy.
Policy shifts may also affect how students are counted as dual language learners and which programs receive funding. Coalition materials note that more than half of California children under five live in homes where a language other than English is spoken, and they argue that diverse English varieties should be integrated into broader multilingual strategies rather than sidelined.
What comes next
The coalition has framed the change as part of a 10-point policy framework and said the workgroup will continue partnering with Californians Together, Catalyst California and Early Edge. The groups plan to engage state early learning officials, submit recommendations, and seek changes to implementation guidance for the dual language learners program.
Any formal policy change would move through state education and early learning channels and could take several months to a year or longer depending on stakeholder feedback and administrative review. The workgroup says it will continue coordinating with partners Californians Together, Catalyst California and Early Edge as it prepares recommendations for state officials in the coming months.
FAQ
What is Black English or AAVE?
African American Vernacular English (AAVE), often called Black English, is a systematic dialect with consistent grammatical, phonological and lexical patterns. Researchers describe features such as invariant “be” for habitual actions and specific pronunciation and syntactic patterns; see ScienceDirect and other scholarly sources for technical definitions.
What change is being proposed in California?
A coalition led by BlackECE is asking California to explicitly add Black English to the Promoting Equitable Early Learning and Care For Dual Language Learners program so that Black English speakers are included in multilingual supports and policy planning.
How could this affect supports for Black children in early education?
If adopted, the change could broaden teacher training, influence how children are assessed for language needs, and direct resources toward recognizing and sustaining children’s home language varieties rather than treating them as errors.
Source: reporting by Fox News and PBS/KQED; coalition materials from Black Californians United for Early Care and Education (BlackECE). For original reporting see: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/leftist-california-group-pushes-add-black-english-schools-multilingual-education-program and https://www.kqed.org/news/12088910/these-advocates-say-black-english-belongs-in-preschool-classrooms. Coalition information is available at https://blackece.org/blackenglish/. Additional scholarly background on AAVE referenced from ScienceDirect definitions and academic literature.
