ELL News Headlines

When the U.S. Department of Education laid off thousands of employees earlier this year amid the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate the agency, it threw hundreds of schools into limbo over the future of a key federal grant program tied to supporting English learners. The National Professional Development (NPD) grant program, run by the Education Department’s office for English language acquisition, or OELA, provides universities and nonprofit organizations with funding to partner with school districts for in-service teacher training, micro-credentialing, and alternative pathways to teacher licensure specifically focused on serving English learners.

As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids ramp up across California, so have reports of family members — and sometimes students themselves — being detained or deported. Listen to how immigration enforcement is affecting families, how teachers are stepping up to help, and what school staff need to keep in mind.

An educator explains how students can more easily access common supports like visuals, sentence frames, and pair-share.

The Trump administration is holding back nearly $6.8 billion in federal funding for K-12 schools it was scheduled to dole out July 1, Education Department staff told state education agencies on Monday afternoon—the day before the funding, by law, was required to start flowing. The funding is earmarked for English learners, migrant students, professional development, academic services, out-of-school time, and more.

An unexplained delay has held up more than $11 million in federal funding that Vermont schools expected to receive next week — and it's unclear when, or if, schools will get the money. Education Secretary Zoie Saunders sounded the alarm in a June 16 email to superintendents bearing a subject line that read, in part, "Urgent update." She warned the school leaders that Vermont has yet to receive its federal allocations for Title IIA and Title III grants, which the U.S. Department of Education awards to states each year.

Schools nationwide, including across Oklahoma, are still waiting for federal funds supporting English learners and migrant students while the Trump administration seeks to eliminate both programs. As schools prepare their annual budgets for the 2026 fiscal year, which begins Tuesday, the Oklahoma State Department of Education reported this week it hasn’t yet received money from the federal government for migrant education and English language acquisition, along with a few other funds typically awarded annually to all 50 states.

The Trump administration is signaling that it may defy Congress and withhold billions of dollars in federal formula grants that school districts and states expect to start receiving on July 1 — including funding that supports vulnerable students and ensures compliance with federal law. The growing anxiety over disrupted federal education funding centers on four programs worth a combined $5 billion: Title I-C for migrant education, Title II for professional development, Title III for English learners, and Title IV-B for before- and after-school programs.

As federal immigration policy shifts continue to ripple through K-12 schools, educators can better support immigrant students and families by developing a basic understanding of immigration law and processes, experts say.

Bronx high school Principal Norma Vega stood on stage on a sweltering morning earlier this week surveying the 50 graduating seniors seated in front of her. Clad in blue and white caps and gowns, many also wore colorful sashes representing the countries they left behind, like the Dominican Republic and Mali, just years earlier, often with little English.

These ideas for staying productive as you reflect and recharge can help you be more engaged when you return to school.