ELL Programs Get Overhaul in New York and Los Angeles

Acknowledging that they are not meeting the needs of hundreds of thousands of students learning to speak English, the nation’s two largest school systems this month announced plans to improve instruction and services for English-language learners.

Pressed by federal and state officials, the Los Angeles Unified School District and the New York City Department of Education will adopt broad changes to their programs and services for students learning English.

In Los Angeles, school officials cooperated with the U.S. Department of Education to devise a plan to overhaul its master plan for serving English learners—an agreement that ends an 18-month-old enforcement action by the Education Department’s office for civil rights to improve educational opportunities for ELLs in that district. The pact also requires the Los Angeles district to target more resources and academic opportunities...