Updated: This story has been updated with comments from the Education Department, as well as from a press conference hosted by education leaders.
U.S. House Democrats are urging U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to halt her agency’s plans to dismantle the standalone office that oversees federal programs for the nation’s more than 5 million English learners.
They outlined their objections to the plan in a May 12 letter shared exclusively with Education Week and signed by 58 House members.
As first reported by Education Week, the Education Department notified key congressional committees on Feb. 13 of its intent to dissolve its office of English language acquisition (OELA).
The office oversees multiple federal programs serving English learners, including $890 million in Title III funding that supplements schools’ spending on these students, as well as professional development grants for educators. Under the department’s plan, these programs would be redistributed across other Education Department offices. The department is also in the process of transferring day-to-day management of programs overseen by OELA and other department divisions to other federal agencies, including the departments of Labor and the Interior.
“What is their plan to make sure that those who are learning English can fully participate in public education?” said Rep. Bobby Scott, a Virginia Democrat, co-lead of the letter, and ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
“The Department of Education was created to provide equal access to all students, and with this action, some are going to be left behind,” he added.
In an earlier statement to Education Week, Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education Kirsten Baesler said the effort is part of the Trump administration’s larger project of “returning education to the states.”
“English learners should never be treated as a siloed program, set aside as an afterthought,” she said.
The Education Department shared the same statement May 13 in response to a request for comment on the Democrats’ letter.
House Democrats, educators, English-learner advocates, and former OELA directors have raised concerns about whether states and schools can meet legal obligations to English learners without a dedicated office with years of tailored expertise and resources on educating English learners.
“The Department’s decision will undoubtedly disrupt the administration of programs designed to support English learners,” the House Democrats’ letter said.
While the caucus’s letter doesn’t block the Education Department’s plans, experts say it could lay the groundwork for future legislative efforts to reinstate OELA.
“Hopefully [the letter] will raise the profile ... so the public can see what’s going on and hopefully react,” Scott said.
Why the Education Department is moving to dismantle OELA
OELA was established under the Department of Education Organization Act, the 1979 law that created the Education Department. Originally named the office of bilingual education and minority languages affairs, it was established in its current form in 2002 by the No Child Left Behind Act.
Federal law allows the education secretary to reorganize or eliminate certain offices with 90 days notice to Congress—a window set to expire May 14.
In their letter to McMahon, House Democrats expressed concern that federal programs and functions of OELA would be disrupted by moving them out to other offices “due to the lack of staff experience and expertise with OELA functions.” They also feared limited federal oversight and accountability under Title III, “which would reduce the Department’s ability to ensure that states are meeting their legal obligations to support [English learners].”
Advocates share these concerns, especially after the department reduced OELA staffing to a single employee last year as part of the broad Education Department staff reductions.
At a press conference hosted by education leaders on May 13, Jose Viana, who led OELA during President Donald Trump’s first term, said that schools need the expertise, guidance, and federal leadership from a standalone office dedicated to English learners.
“Restructuring moves responsibilities on an organizational chart. Leadership ensures someone is responsible for outcomes, effective practices, coordination, and visibility,” he said.
“It is critical that we streamline operations to better support ELs,” wrote Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs Mary Christina Riley in the Education Department’s notice to dismantle OELA.
Experts previously shared with Education Week how OELA has long served as a go-to centralized resource for educators, school leaders, and states on how to best meet the needs of the growing national population of English learners.
Ruth Perez, the deputy superintendent of the Los Angeles County Office of Education, which connects 80 Southern California school districts with the state department of education, said at the May 13 press conference that offices like hers also have relied on OELA’s guidance over the years.
“When a teacher in Compton Unified or East [Los Angeles] needs training to serve a newcomer student, that expertise traces back to federal infrastructure,” Perez said. “When a district needs to know whether their English-learner program is working, the accountability framework comes from federal oversight.”
Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican and chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, expressed his support for the move to dismantle OELA.
“Transitioning OELA’s functions to OESE simply streamlines these programs, making it possible for them to more efficiently serve the needs of English learners,” Walberg said in a statement.
What’s next for federal English-learner programs
The proposed dismantling of OELA is part of broader federal shifts affecting the education of English learners and immigrant students.
Critics point to rescinded guidance on immigration enforcement in schools and English learner rights as signs the federal government is deprioritizing these student populations. Some experts argue it’s more important than ever for state leaders to step up in helping schools serve English learners.
Congress could amend the Department of Education Organization Act to list OELA as a required office to be maintained, thus forcing the department to reinstate it, said Julia Martin, the director of policy and government affairs at the Bruman Group, an education-focused law firm.
“We are looking at every possible way we can save this office,” said Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, an Oregon Democrat and co-lead of the House Democrats’ letter.
Though Congress could have intervened earlier in the 90-day period since receiving the Education Department’s notice to dismantle OELA, passing legislation within that time frame would have proved difficult, Martin said. The measure would have had to pass both Republican-controlled chambers before going to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. Adding language into the federal appropriations bill to preserve OELA would have been one route, but the Education Department letter was sent Feb. 13, at least 10 days after the main funding bill for 2026 cleared Congress.
Scott said voters can count on leaders like himself to “support students who are English learners every time, every way we can.”
For now, House Democrats requested in their letter on May 12 that the Education Department keep Congress “informed on any next steps and any actions that would further diminish the support for English Learners and their Congressionally authorized pursuit of English proficiency.”
