What does ESSA mean for ELLs?
Hi Everyone!
Happy New Year! After getting the blog moved over to our new website, we are getting back to posting some new content this year.
First, we want to share updates on the new education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), passed at the end of 2015, which has significant implications for English language learners.
The following organizations and teams have compiled their responses to the new policy:
- American Federation of Teachers: ELLs Position Statement (see more on AFT’s ESSA Facts)
- National Education Association: ESSA Implementation Documents
- Working Group Policy on ELLs: ESSA, ELLs, and the Value of Bilingualism
While there are some strong endorsements of measures regarding ELLs in these documents, such as the requirement to establish statewide exit and entrance procedures for ELLs, there are also concerns about the law’s lack of focus on the value of multilingualism, as well as on individual state’s abilities to monitor ELL progress.
For an in-depth discussion of what the law may mean for ELLs, take a look at the following webinar next week, hosted by the Migration Policy Institute.
Upcoming Webinar: Taking Stock of ESSA’s Potential Impact on Immigrant and English-Learner Students
Thursday, January 21, 2016, 3:00 p.m. EST
Speakers:
- Margie McHugh, Director, MPI National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy
- Delia Pompa, Senior Fellow for Education Policy, MPI
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