This year, the Trump administration took several federal actions with widespread implications for the nation’s English learners, a fast-growing student population whose education often hinges on access to language supports and clear federal guidance.
As experts and advocates tracked the ripple effects from these the administration’s policychanges, educators sought out best practices to make sure their students acquire the English language through grade-level content.
Stories explaining federal policy shifts and guides on how to best teach this diverse group of students were some of the top topics on EdWeek readers’ minds when reading stories this year about English learners.
Here’s a collection of the English-learner-focused stories that resonated most with EdWeek readers in 2025.
10. Federal push for English-only services worries educators, advocates
In July, the U.S. Department of Justice published guidance on how federal agencies could comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order from March declaring English the nation’s official language.
Experts and advocates spoke with Education Week about the implications of the guidance’s language, such as Attorney General Pam Bondi’s call for agencies to “minimize non-essential multilingual services, redirect resources toward English-language education and assimilation, and ensure compliance with legal obligations through targeted measures where necessary.”
9. Teachers say they need more support for English learners, survey finds
In September, EdWeek published a special report focused on the current landscape of English-learner education. This story highlighted data from an EdWeek Research Center survey completed May 28 through July 1 by a nationally representative pool of 874 educators, mostly teachers, in both public and private schools.
The survey found that fewer than half of educators said the instruction and professional development they or their school or district’s teachers received on working with English learners was sufficient. In contrast, nearly 1 in 5 said they’ve received no training at all.
8. Political divides shape educators’ views on English learners’ rights
In 2024, the EdWeek Research Center saw, for the first time, an increase in free responses within national surveys expressing frustration over schools’ legal responsibilities to support students learning the English language. The research center conducted a new national survey in February explicitly asking educators whether they support federal laws mandating language services for English learners, and guaranteeing access to free, public education for undocumented students.
This story shared the results: sharp, partisan divides came up when responses were broken down by whom respondents voted for in the 2024 presidential election.
7. Who are dual-language immersion programs really for?
Another entry from the September special report on English learners, this story dove into the question of student access to dual-language immersion programs.
While research says these programs—which teach grade-level content in English and a partner language—are beneficial for English learners, researchers have found this group of students is not alwaysenrolled in them. This story addressed ways in which districts have worked to expand access.
6. Who will support English learners? Experts warn of crisis
The office of English language acquisition, commonly known as OELA, has historically been the sole federal office dedicated to English learners. When the U.S. Department of Education shed nearly half its staff last winter, OELA was seemingly down to just one employee.
Experts spoke with Education Week about the broad implications for states and districts from suddenly losing a key federal watchdog and resource for working with English learners.
5. How one district approaches the ‘science of reading’ with English learners
When schools embrace the science of reading—which aims to bring elementary reading instruction in line with evidence-based practices—they don’t always discuss in depth how it applies to English learners learning to read in what is often for them a second language.
This story highlights how the Southside Independent School District in Texas has strategically taught literacy to multilingual students in both English and Spanish.
4. Teachers aren’t prepared or equipped to teach English learners, survey finds
A nationally representative survey from the RAND Corp. published in June found that about half of all teachers surveyed said they were not at all, or only somewhat, prepared to teach multilingual learners.
This story elaborated on the survey findings and addressed the need for more high-quality curriculum for these students.
3. How schools can navigate Trump’s immigration policies
On Jan. 20, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security rescinded a 13-year-old policy that designated schools as protected areas from immigration enforcement. This decision would later be followed by a series of targeted immigration enforcement efforts across the country. While those operations haven’t specifically targeted schools, they’ve left educators to address growing fear and anxiety among students and families.
This story tackled some of the immediate steps schools could take to keep students safe.
2. Trump has made English the official language. What that means for schools
Experts and English-learner advocates spoke with Education Week about the implications of the president’s executive order in March declaring English the country’s official language.
In this story, they argued that while there were no immediate effects on schools, they would be look out for consequences down the road, such as impacts on schools’ translation and interpretation services for students and families.
1. Trump admin. quietly rescinds guidance on English learners’ rights
With no official press release or formal declaration, the Trump administration rescinded a 2015 Dear Colleague Letter, which for close to a decade served as a key resource reminding schools and states of English learners’ rights.
While experts in this story highlighted how those rights remain the law of the land, they noted that the onus of protecting and adhering to English learners’ rights now falls much more heavily on states and schools than in the past.
