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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A guide to what the U.S. Education Department does (and doesn't) do
Here's a look at what the Education Department does and doesn't do – and how much of it is protected by acts of Congress.
2025 Youth Media Award Winners
On January 27, the American Library Association (ALA) announced the top books, digital media, video, and audiobooks for children and young adults — including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery, and Printz awards — at ALA’s 2025 LibLearnX conference in Phoenix. The First State of Being, written by Erin Entrada Kelly, is the 2025 Newbery Medal winner. Chooch Helped, illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz, is the 2025 Caldecott Medal winner. Ms. Kunz is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. Lola, written by Karla Arenas Valenti, is the 2025 Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award winner. Shut Up, This Is Serious, written by Carolina Ixta, is the 2025 Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Award winner. The Dream Catcher, written and illustrated by Marcelo Verdad, is the 2025 Pura Belpré Youth Illustrator Award winner.
Oklahoma Takes Step to Require Parents to Provide Schools Proof of Citizenship
Parents enrolling students in Oklahoma schools will have to provide their child’s proof of citizenship or legal immigration status under a proposed rule unanimously approved by the state’s board of education on Jan. 28. The rule, which must now go to the state’s Republican-controlled legislature and GOP governor, marks what legal experts and immigration advocates call one of the latest efforts to undermine and potentially overturn the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe that grants undocumented students the constitutional right to a free, public education.
How English-Learner Standards Can Help Teachers Help Students
Jenni Torres has taken the helm as the new executive director of WIDA, the consortium that oversees English-language proficiency tests used by 41 states for English learners. Before this role, she served as chief academic officer at Waterford.org, a national nonprofit focused on early learning and kindergarten readiness.
Parents and caregivers notice kids processing LA fires through make-believe
As families try to adjust to a new normal after the Los Angeles wildfires, some parents and caregivers are noticing kids processing through make-believe.
Teaching Students About the Richness of Black Language Traditions
Black History Month is an opportunity to augment traditional written documents with visual, sonic, dramatic, and multimedia texts.
ACLU, Michigan immigration attorneys release guidelines for schools amid immigration policy changes
Advocates and attorneys are encouraging Michiganders to call on their local school boards to adopt specific policies around interacting with immigration enforcement officials and protecting student privacy.
How Oakland Unified is helping immigrant students fill education gaps
In her home country of Guatemala, Maribel attended a one-room schoolhouse for two years, but the teacher was often absent, causing class to be canceled. She never learned how to read. The school closed during Covid, and she never returned to class until last year, when she moved to Oakland. Now 11 and enrolled in middle school, she is learning English and at the same time filling gaps in her education — how to read, interpret graphs and acquire other skills she never learned before.
Meaningful Engagement With Newcomer Parents Helps Everyone. Here’s How To Do It
Parents who are immigrants understand the importance of education, but are often labeled as parents who don’t hold their children to high standards, according to Emily Francis, a high school ESL teacher in North Carolina who works with newcomer students.
The history and legacy of birthright citizenship in the U.S.
On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order to end universal birthright citizenship and limit it at birth to people with at least one parent who is a permanent resident or citizen. A federal judge put the order on hold, but if upheld, Trump’s move could upend a 120-year Supreme Court precedent. Stephanie Sy reports on the history and legacy of that case.