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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Trump Admin. Cuts Some Teacher-Training Grants for English Learners

The U.S. Department of Education has halted some of the 107 grants from the only federal program specifically created to help teachers improve techniques for working with English learners. Those grantees received non-continuation letters from the U.S. Department of Education on Sept. 23 and were given seven calendar days to file an appeal.

Fewer English Learners but No Less Demand for Programs

Close to 40% of all public school students speak a language other than English at home, and the multilingual student population in California is growing more diverse. Yet the number and share of English Learners (EL) in California public schools has fallen. PPIC researchers Beyond Deng and Laura Hill discussed findings from a new report on the changing English Learner population and the obstacles faced by districts in providing courses and services to EL students.

Lucky 13: A Guide to Spooky Latinx and Aztec Monsters in the “Seasons of Sisterhood” Series

Thirteen is a scary number, an unlucky hide-under-your-covers and don’t-answer-the-door kind of number. This is fitting because this October, readers will get a look at my new book, Fall of the Fireflies, the first book in the "Seasons of Sisterhood" series. It's set in the world of Summer of the Mariposas, a fantasy I wrote 13 years ago that is a Mexican American retelling of the Odyssey. Some of the supernatural beings in that novel included a coven of screeching witch owls known as lechuzas, a ghoulish nagual with a hunger for power (and children), and blood-thirsty chupacabras. 

TESOL Statement on the Rescission of Guidance on Serving Multilingual Learners of English in U.S. Public Schools

In a press release, TESOL stated, "TESOL International Association opposes the U.S. federal government’s decision, announced the week of 11 August 2025, to rescind the January 2015 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) issued by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division (CRT) and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Although the rescission does not alter U.S. law or change the responsibilities of state and local education agencies (SEAs and LEAs) to provide quality education for multilingual learners of English (MLEs) and ensure families have access to information and can make informed decisions, it raises questions about how states, school districts, educators, paraprofessionals, and administrators will continue to meet these obligations for a growing MLE population."

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