Federal Policy and Funding for ELL Education: News and Updates
This resource page includes updates related to federal policy and funding for the education of English language learners (ELLs). For additional information related to your setting, you may wish to check in with administrators at the school and district level.
For more information on the federal regulations related to ELLs, see our resource guide below.
News and Updates
October 2025
Staff Cuts at the Department of Education: Special Education, Civil Rights, and More
These updates relate to recent staff cuts at the U.S. Department of Education; the cuts included a large cohort of staffers from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).
- Trump’s shutdown firings hollow out special education office (PBS News Hour)
- Amid shutdown, Trump administration guts department overseeing special education (NPR)
- Ed. Dept. Offices Will Be Virtually Wiped Out in Latest Layoffs (Education Week)
- Education Department layoffs hit offices that oversee special education and civil rights enforcement (Chalkbeat)
Here is a helpful page from Understood with updates and a Q&A for families:
Note: ELLs with special education needs are legally entitled to both sets of services. Learn more in our Special Education and ELLs: Resource Gallery.
September 2025
Here are some of the stories we are following this month.
Professional Development grants halted
According to Education Week, "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."
State role in ELL education
Many ELL educators and advocates are increasing their focus of the roles in states in ensuring that ELLs have access to a high-quality education. See more here:
- The Critical Role States Play in English Learners’ Education (Education Week)
- Trump administration push to cut support for English learners turns spotlight on states (Chalkbeat)
Ongoing discussion of the Dear Colleague Letter
Several organizations are calling for the Dear Colleague Letter to be reinstated:
August 2025
In August 2025, the U.S. Department of Education rescinded the 2015 Dear Colleague Letter related to serving ELL students. This guidance document was published to remind local schools and state education agencies of their legal obligation to ensure that MLs "participate meaningfully and equally in educational programs and services" (p. 2) and how the Office of Civil Rights and Department of Justice evaluate complaints of discrimination.
The laws and court cases on which this document was based are still in place, including the Every Student Succeeds Act [ESSA], the Civil Rights Act, Lau v. Nichols, and Castañeda v. Pickard. ESSA requires every state education agency [SEA] to "monitor every local education agency [LEA] to ensure that they are providing ELs with meaningful access to grade-level core content instruction and remedying any academic deficit in a timely manner" (U.S. Department of Education, 2016, p. 1).
In addition, states may have passed their own laws regarding ELL education, such as New York State’s C.R. Part 154, the state regulations concerning English learners/multilingual learners.
News and Updates
- TESOL Statement on the Rescission of Guidance on Serving Multilingual Learners of English in U.S. Public Schools (TESOL International)
- Advocates Push Congress to Protect Funding for English Learners (Education Week)
July 2025
In late July, nearly $7 billion in federal K-12 funding that had been withheld from public schools was released to states. This funding included Title III funds for ELLs, as well as funds for migrant education, after-school programs, academic enrichment, and professional learning. Lawsuits had been filed by states and school districts to release the funds. You can read more about the impacts of the funding pause in the updates below, and we will continue to post updates related to federal funding for ELLs on this page.
To learn more about ELL funding, see Funding for ELL Education: An Overview.
- Trump administration releases billions it withheld from schools (The Washington Post)
- Trump Abruptly Unfreezes All of the Education Funds He Had Withheld (Education Week)
- Trump Releases $1.4 Billion He Withheld From After-School Programs (Education Week)
District and State Impact
To see how much funding is being withheld in each of these categories by locality, take a look at:
- See How Much Federal Money Is Being Held Back by District (Education Week)
- See How Much School Funding Is Being Held Back, State by State (Education Week)
- States Face Uncertainty as an Estimated $4.8 Billion in K–12 Funding Remains Unreleased: Here’s the Fiscal Impact by State (Learning Policy Institute)
Federal Funds: Summer 2025 Updates
National Updates
Here a few of the national stories on this topic; several others have been published by other outlets.
- Delayed Title III Funds Leave Districts’ English-Learner Expenses in Limbo (Education Week)
- Who Will Bear the Brunt of Trump's Hold on $6.8 Billion in School Funds? (Education Week)
- Trump administration withholds billions in school grants for critical programs (PBS News Hour)
- White House withholds $7 billion in school funding (WBUR)
- Trump administration withholds $7 billion from schools (The Washington Post)
State and Regional Updates
Here are some updates on local and regional impacts by state:
Reports
- States Face Uncertainty as an Estimated $4.8 Billion in K–12 Funding Remains Unreleased: Here's the Fiscal Impact by State (Learning Policy Institute)
- Federal Budgeting Timelines and Title III of the Every Student Succeeds Act (National Association of English Language Program Administrators)
- Funding English Learner Education: Making the Most of Policy and Budget Levers (Migration Policy Institute)
Background Information
- Title III Funding for English Learners, Explained (Education Week)
- What You Need to Know About ELLs: FAQs (Colorín Colorado)
Related Resources
Updated ELL Policy Guide
Serving Multilingual Learners: Laws, Policies, and Regulations is a guide from Colorín Colorado that provides an accessible summary of federal laws governing multilingual learners' education.
In addition, the guide describes ten common compliance issues related to the education of multilingual learners. The summary of each issue also includes strategies, actions steps, and resources for schools and districts.
You can also learn more about this guide from our interview on Tan Huynh's Teaching MLs podcast:
Funding for ELL Education: An Overview
Learn more about different types of funding streams related ELLs, as well as steps that educators can take to better understand funding in their setting.
This article also includes a one-page summary for printing and sharing.