ELL News Headlines

Thousands of California students remain classified as English learners even after they reach proficiency in English, according to new research. Several studies suggest the state’s reclassification rules may be holding students in language support programs longer than necessary to their detriment.

As a child, Nora told me, she was immediately mislabeled as a special education student simply because she hadn’t yet learned English—a mistake her parents, trusting the system, didn’t feel comfortable questioning.

Alexandra Cornejo is an educator, role model, and motivator. She sees herself in her students, while being acutely aware of their specific challenges. And as she supports their academic and social-emotional lives, the librarian at Harlingen (TX) School of Health Professions remembers a mantra of her youth.

A majority of parents are somewhat or very concerned that heightened immigration operations, like those carried out in Minnesota in recent months, could disrupt their children’s education.

In the latest effort by the Trump administration to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, it announced on Thursday that all staff will be leaving the department's longtime, Washington, D.C., headquarters in the Lyndon B. Johnson building, which the administration estimates "is roughly 70% vacant."

January's immigration surge in Minnesota was linked to debunked claims that many daycare programs in Minneapolis and in St. Paul were taking public money but not caring for children, putting the entire sector under a microscope. 

At least three states have taken steps to restrict undocumented high school students’ access to dual enrollment and career-technical education programs, according to documents reviewed by Chalkbeat. In one state, the policy was reversed following Chalkbeat inquiries.

After allegations that César Chavez sexually abused girls surfaced in a major investigation this week, dozens of schools named for the farm labor activist faced immediate questions they weren’t prepared to answer. Would they change their names? And how should they start these conversations with their communities?

Sanchez: Language access, cultural understanding and parent partnership are foundational, not supplemental, for special education systems.

Leveraging students’ home languages in the classroom with tools like translation can help make students’ stories visible. In doing so, learning a new language becomes fun for students.