Learning the Language
Education Week reporters covered English-language learners, bilingual education, and civil rights issues and explored the educational, policy, and social issues surrounding ELLs in U.S. schools. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: English language learners and bilingual education.
English Learners
Study: ELLs Less Likely to Take Advantage of District School Choice Programs
"Parents should not be treated as a monolithic group when designing and implementing school choice policies," a new Rice University research brief concludes.
English Learners
Helping Newcomer English-Language Learners Earn High School Diplomas
A new report examines the challenges educators face in meeting the needs of these students and outlines strategies to help them meet their goals.
Equity & Diversity
Civil Rights Group Warns States: Don't Bar Immigrant Students From Schools
Federal law established through a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision makes clear that schools and districts cannot adopt enrollment policies that deny or discourage children from enrolling because of immigration status.
Equity & Diversity
Kids Count: Immigrants and Their Children Face Challenges on Path to Opportunity
Nationally, there are 18 million children who live with immigrant parents; an estimated 5 million of those children have at least one parent who is undocumented.
Early Childhood
Early Education for Young Dual-Language Learners Weak in Many States, Report Finds
The dual-language-learner population in the United States has grown by about 24 percent since 2000, and now represents about 32 percent of children ages 8 and younger.
Equity & Diversity
Trump's Immigration Demands Could Pose Dilemma for Educators, Advocates
Congressional Democratic leaders have rejected Trump's demands, saying it shows the administration "can't be serious about compromise."
English Learners
Early Bilingualism Helps With Learning Languages Later in Life, Study Shows
New research finds a distinct language-learning benefit for people who grew up bilingual or learn another language at an early age.
English Learners
Will Your State's ESSA Plan Work for English-Language Learners?
A new brief guides readers through sections in state plans that address English-learner accountability, outlining 33 key questions that educators and advocates should ask.
Equity & Diversity
Obama: Ending DACA Is 'Contrary to Our Spirit, and to Common Sense'
Cheered by anti-immigration groups, the decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has sparked protests and demonstrations around the country.
Equity & Diversity
Trump Cancels DACA, Impacting Tens of Thousands of Students and Teachers
Maintaining that he will work to resolve the issue with "heart and compassion," President Trump is asking Congress to replace the Obama-era policy with legislation before it fully expires.
Equity & Diversity
Trump Reportedly Plans to End DACA With 6-Month Delay
The decision could leave an estimated 800,000 undocumented residents, many of whom work and learn in the nation's K-12 schools, in limbo.
Equity & Diversity
Educators, Students Brace for Trump's DACA Decision
The pending decision comes as education leaders and congressional lawmakers urge Trump not to dismantle the program for the young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.
Teaching
Racial Discrimination Was Behind Ethnic-Studies Courses Ban, Judge Rules
Opponents argued that a 2010 law, which in part banned courses designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group, targeted Mexican Americans and other minority groups.
Equity & Diversity
Refugee Students Don't Negatively Affect the Education of Peers, Study Finds
School districts across the country have faced criticism and legal scrutiny amid complaints that they deny immigrant and refugee students access to an adequate education.