ELL News Headlines

Parents enrolling students in Oklahoma schools will have to provide their child’s proof of citizenship or legal immigration status under a proposed rule unanimously approved by the state’s board of education on Jan. 28. The rule, which must now go to the state’s Republican-controlled legislature and GOP governor, marks what legal experts and immigration advocates call one of the latest efforts to undermine and potentially overturn the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe that grants undocumented students the constitutional right to a free, public education.

Jenni Torres has taken the helm as the new executive director of WIDA, the consortium that oversees English-language proficiency tests used by 41 states for English learners. Before this role, she served as chief academic officer at Waterford.org, a national nonprofit focused on early learning and kindergarten readiness.

As families try to adjust to a new normal after the Los Angeles wildfires, some parents and caregivers are noticing kids processing through make-believe.

Black History Month is an opportunity to augment traditional written documents with visual, sonic, dramatic, and multimedia texts.

Advocates and attorneys are encouraging Michiganders to call on their local school boards to adopt specific policies around interacting with immigration enforcement officials and protecting student privacy.

In her home country of Guatemala, Maribel attended a one-room schoolhouse for two years, but the teacher was often absent, causing class to be canceled. She never learned how to read. The school closed during Covid, and she never returned to class until last year, when she moved to Oakland. Now 11 and enrolled in middle school, she is learning English and at the same time filling gaps in her education — how to read, interpret graphs and acquire other skills she never learned before.

Parents who are immigrants understand the importance of education, but are often labeled as parents who don’t hold their children to high standards, according to Emily Francis, a high school ESL teacher in North Carolina who works with newcomer students. 

On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order to end universal birthright citizenship and limit it at birth to people with at least one parent who is a permanent resident or citizen. A federal judge put the order on hold, but if upheld, Trump’s move could upend a 120-year Supreme Court precedent. Stephanie Sy reports on the history and legacy of that case.

A middle school teacher shares her favorite ways to celebrate linguistic diversity, both on International Mother Language Day and year-round.

Young readers of all ages can enjoy the various activities involved with Lunar New Year as they read these titles.