Families with children in Canyons School District's Dual-Language Immersion programs now have concrete numbers: at least 50 students must commit to DLI by Jan. 15, 2027, or their school drops from two first-grade immersion classes to one.

The district published the plan Thursday, Aug. 20, following a Canyons Board of Education discussion two days earlier. It applies to the 2027-28 school year at Lone Peak, Oak Hollow and Silver Mesa elementary schools, the three campuses offering Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese immersion.

The thresholds:

• Two-class cohort: 50 or more DLI-committed students by Jan. 15, plus at least 19 students in the neighborhood (non-immersion) classroom.
• One-class cohort: If fewer than 50 students commit, the school shifts to a single DLI class of 30 students minimum.

Traditionally, a two-class cohort starts with about 56 immersion students, 28 per class. This past year, some Canyons schools couldn't sustain that model and already moved to one class.

The district is also extending its first-grade DLI application window. Applications open Sept. 30 and close Dec. 15, longer than in prior years.

"The goal with these benchmarks is to be transparent and help families know what to expect well before the start of a new school year," Superintendent McKay Robinson said in the announcement. "As a District, we are absolutely committed to preserving this program. These enrollment targets are a first step. Moving forward, we'll need to consider additional solutions, and we invite families to be part of that conversation."

Declining birth rates and the rising cost of living across Salt Lake County are shrinking the pool of school-age children. Instructional Supports Director Dr. Amber Roderick-Landward flagged the trend at the Jan. 20 board meeting, when the district cut first-grade DLI spots at all three schools to 32 for the current school year. Board member Holly Neibaur voiced concern about that reduction at the Feb. 3 meeting, and board member Amanda Oaks thanked Lone Peak DLI patrons for raising questions and urged residents to attend a town hall at the school.

The pressure hasn't eased. One example presented to the board Aug. 18 showed a school with only 42 incoming kindergartners, not enough to support both an immersion track and a viable neighborhood classroom even if every family chose DLI.

Long-term options on the table include redrawing school boundaries, creating DLI-only magnet schools that pull from a wider area, and consolidating programs into stronger cohorts. No decisions have been made.

To gauge family priorities, the district is emailing a survey to all student households. It asks whether families would travel farther for a magnet immersion school and what role boundaries, class sizes and K-12 continuity should play in planning. Results will feed into the district's Long-Range Planning process.

As we reported Aug. 21, the board reviewed the DLI thresholds alongside Innovation Center admissions changes and new visitor ID rules at the Aug. 18 meeting. The full board presentation and a recorded livestream of that meeting are available on the district's website.

Families interested in DLI for the 2027-28 school year should watch for the application window opening Sept. 30.