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English learners¹ (ELs) represent a growing share of the student population in the United States, now making up 10 percent² of K–12 students and over 30 percent of the youngest children (birth to age eight).³ Historically, ELs have been sidelined in federal education policy discussions, which has resulted in an inconsistent approach to supporting their language development and academic achievement.

Prior to 1968, the federal role in EL education was minimal. That changed with the passing of the Bilingual Education Act (Title VII), which outlined the U.S. government’s responsibility to ensure that EL students had equitable access to public education and programs designed to support their English language development.⁴ Since that time we have seen policies across the country range from English-only policies focused on remedial and deficit-oriented approaches to bilingual/multilingual policies focused on strengthening and highlighting ELs’ considerable assets.

To be sure, these tensions are evident in the federal policies that govern EL education today. While the last two reauthorizations of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) pushed for increased standards and accountability—bringing increased attention to the needs of ELs and elevating the need for more robust EL policies—these laws have also focused on the perceived deficits of ELs, most notably through an imbalanced emphasis on English language acquisition at the expense of academic and home language development.

This year poses an important opportunity for our nation’s approach to English learners. With a new presidential administration comes the possibility to reassess the condition of federal EL education policy and identify areas of prioritization and improvement. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified and exacerbated existing education inequities. Recent studies suggest that ELs have been disproportionately impacted by the shift to distance learning, with school districts reporting lower attendance rates, a higher proportion of failing grades, and significant academic regression among EL students.⁵ These negative impacts have been heightened by a lack of consistent access to the technology needed to engage in remote learning.⁶ This paper takes stock of key areas in need of improvement in federal policy impacting ELs and dual language learners (DLLs), including data and accountability, assessment, teacher preparation and professional learning, and funding. It draws on expertise from EL experts across the country to offer recommendations aimed at improving their access to education services throughout the early education and PreK–12 continuum.