Pg County Schools Face Parent Backlash Over Proposed Cut to Chinese, Spanish Immersion
Prince George's County parents are contesting a proposal that could end the boundary Chinese Immersion program at Paint Branch Elementary in College Park and the Spanish Immersion program at Capitol Heights Elementary, a change that has drawn attention as pg county schools work to close a $150 million budget gap.
Pg County Schools proposal would phase out immersion pathways
The school system confirmed the paint-branch Chinese immersion and the Capitol Heights Spanish immersion could end this school year if the proposal moves forward. immersion pathways at Greenbelt Middle School and Largo High School would be phased out and would no longer accept new students, though currently enrolled students would be able to continue through completion.
Parents organize after Jan. 27 notice and $1. 9 million cost disclosure
Parents learned of the potential change when Dr. Judith White, the Chief Academic Officer, informed families on Jan. 27 that the Chinese Immersion Program was under review. The notice included a direct line on costs: the Chinese Immersion program at Paint Branch was identified as costing the district $1. 9 million. The district tied the consideration of cuts to the wider $150 million budget shortfall.
Community response was immediate. A parent started an online petition that has been signed by more than 1, 400 parents, educators and community members. One parent, Ana Gutierrez, whose 7-year-old attends Paint Branch, said the plan would switch the elementary program to a World Language model with fewer hours of instruction rather than full immersion. Pei-Hsuan Liu, Academic Dean of Chinese Immersion at Paint Branch, urged officials to consider alternatives such as downsizing or a lottery to preserve some form of immersion; she warned that eliminating the program would remove Chinese immersion from the district.
Meetings held and what comes next
District leaders met with parents online on Feb. 3 to provide more information about the proposal. In the correspondence sent to families, the district conveyed its assessment bluntly: "After careful consideration, we have determined that we can no longer sustain the immersion model. " The message confirmed that while new admissions to the middle- and high-school immersion pathways would stop, students already enrolled would be allowed to finish their programs.
The debate centers on concrete trade-offs: sustaining a program identified at $1. 9 million versus reducing expenditures to address a $150 million gap. Parents and school staff are pressing for options that could preserve immersion seats or scale programs rather than eliminate them outright.
If the proposal is approved, the boundary Chinese Immersion program at Paint Branch and the Spanish Immersion program at Capitol Heights could end this school year.
