ELL News Headlines
Throughout the week, Colorín Colorado gathers news headlines related to English language learners from around the country. The ELL Headlines are posted Monday through Friday and are available for free!
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Federal English-Learner Grant Returns This Fall Under New Oversight
A federal grant program for professional development focused on working with English learners will continue this fall with a new cohort of projects, and new priorities, including letters of endorsement from governors and state education officials.
Meet the robots programmed by kids to speak their Indigenous languages
SkoBots use a form of artificial intelligence to speak Indigenous languages, and they're small enough to mount on the user's shoulder. They sort of resemble mini R2-D2 droids, from Star Wars, except these robots are designed to look like woodland creatures and decorated in Native American florals.
Adults Have Struggled to Set Rules for AI In School. These Teens Figured It Out
Should students be allowed to use AI on assignments? What about on tests? Who should teach AI literacy? About 100 teenagers got together to try to decide.
These new exams will test California 4-year-olds’ English fluency with playful games
California schools now have two screening instruments that use playful games and stories to test 4-year-olds’ language skills without making them cry.
Don’t forget nature’s classroom
Outdoor learning environments support skills that are difficult to cultivate through traditional classroom instruction alone.
Should the University of California bring back the SAT?
Thousands of UC STEM professors have signed an open letter calling on UC to again require the SAT or ACT for admissions. They say they are seeing more and more students arriving to college so poorly prepared that they can’t solve middle-school math equations. But not all faculty agree that reinstating standardized tests would help with the lack of preparation. Many are concerned that requiring the SAT or ACT could exclude students from less privileged backgrounds.
ICE Raids Are Making Emergency Contacts Essential for Schools
It’s standard practice for school districts to collect emergency contact information when families enroll their children in school and update that information every year. But that emergency information has taken on new meaning for educators after the Trump administration rescinded federal policy in January 2025 shielding schools from immigration enforcement activity.
33 Fantastic Graphic Novels from Faith Erin Hicks, Pedro Martín, and Dan Santat | SLJ 2026 Stars So Far
From long-awaited sequels to brand-new offerings from favorite authors, these titles for tweens and teens won't remain long on bookshelves.
How local innovations are fueling Native American graduation gains at federally funded schools
During his senior year of high school on the Puyallup Reservation, Gerald Dillon traded much of his academic coursework for career training. When he walked into the second grade classroom where he worked as a teaching assistant, students would rush from their seats for a fist bump or a hug.
Bilingualism Delays Brain Aging By 6 Years
New research suggests that the more languages people speak, the younger their brains appear. Learning more languages, especially when younger, and achieving fluency in a second language also seem to slow brain aging.


