Be Informed and Speak Up

By Kathleen Fernandez

ESL and Bilingual Programs have been under siege on the federal level, and it is imperative that we are aware of what is happening. The massive cuts to the US Department of Education will have a tremendous impact on our school districts and students. The USDOE withheld $6.2 billion in funding from schools over the summer, finally releasing it after many protests and two lawsuits. Now, funding for next year is in danger of being cut by the House of Representatives. In addition, the rescinding of the Dear Colleague letter has created uncertainty about the legal responsibilities of school districts to provide ESL and Bilingual programs, even though those legal requirements have not changed.

Last week, NJTESOL/NJBE shared a request that members and allies contact their US Representatives to advise the House Appropriations Committee not to move forward with a bill that would slash $12B from the Department of Education—including eliminating Title III English Language Acquisition, Title II-A, and Fulbright-Hays. There is still time to do so, and we ask that you use this link to tell your House members: Vote NO on these cuts and YES to the Senate version that protects these programs.

This money is essential for the education of Multilingual Learners across the country. The Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University has written this report, Federal Funding to Support the Learning and Success of Multilingual Students, which supports the necessity of ESL and Bilingual programs for students’ success.

English learners are a core part of our school communities, making up over 11% of total enrollment, and bringing strengths, assets, and rich linguistic diversity to our classrooms. There are various civil rights laws and regulations that protect the rights to public education for these students and funding streams allocated to support their school success. Indeed, since 2002, the federal government has provided U.S. schools with Title III formula grants that support the linguistic and academic development of students learning English. The formula grants built basic systems for identifying students with emerging bilingual abilities to provide them with language support services at school. These investments followed decades of targeted competitive grants through the 1968 Bilingual Education Act and subsequent appropriations. These investments have never been sufficient, but are a critical resource for schools in nearly every district in the United States.

In support of the Dear Colleague letter, NJTESOL/NJBE signed on to a petition to the USDOE and the US Department of Justice from the National English Learner Roundtable. On behalf of the undersigned members of the National English Learner Roundtable and partner civil rights and education organizations, we write to express grave concern over the recent rescission of the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) and U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) joint 2015 Dear Colleague Letter: English Learner Students and Limited English Proficient Parents (“2015 guidance”).

The 2015 guidance provided critical, legally grounded direction for states, school districts, and schools on how to comply with laws and Supreme Court decisions that address the education of English learners. The decision to rescind this guidance sends a dangerous and misleading signal to educational agencies that enforcing the civil rights of the more than five million English learners is optional and has created uncertainty about their federal legal obligations to English learners and their families. We demand that ED and DOJ immediately reinstate the 2015 guidance.

New Jersey Spotlight featured these issues in their recent article, Trump administration makes it harder for students to learn English. The article provides information specific to New Jersey and our Multilingual Learners. Situations are changing so quickly that it is essential to be informed and to share the most current information with your colleagues and to take action when necessary.

Kathleen Fernandez is the Executive Director of NJTESOL/NJBE.