Betul Ozel
Abstract
This conceptual paper employs Language Critical Race Theory (LangCrit) to examine how Arizona’s Proposition 203 functions as a mechanism of racialized governance. This English-only mandate sustains linguistic discrimination through what this paper theorizes as affective governance, a concept extending Ahmed’s (2004) work on affective economies to analyze how policy regulates educators through fear and anticipatory compliance. Through analysis of policy texts, legal decisions, and administrative communications spanning 2000 to 2024, the paper identifies five mechanisms: legal codification of temporal assimilation, anticipatory compliance, racialized surveillance via standardized assessment, epistemic erasure, and coordination with broader racial projects. Only 12% of English learners achieve proficiency annually, and graduation rates trail the state average by 22 percentage points. The paper contributes by operationalizing LangCrit for policy analysis and introducing “regulatory haunting” to describe how restrictive policies continue organizing institutional behavior after their legal enforcement mechanisms have been dismantled.
Recommended Citation
Ozel, B. (2026). Beyond enforcement: Affective governance and linguistic discrimination in Arizona’s English-only policy. Midwest Journal of Education, 3(2), 68-80. https://doi.org/10.69670/mje.3.2.5
DOI
Corresponding Author
Betul Ozel, Ph. D. Candidate
Department of Educational Policy Studies and Practice, College of Education, University of Arizona
1430 E. Second Street, 85721, Tucson, AZ
Email: [email protected]
ORCid: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-6932-1633