Espaillat, García, Wilson lead Colleagues in Urging the Department of Education and DOJ to Protect English Learners

WASHINGTON, DC - Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), in collaboration with Representatives Jesús "Chuy" García (IL-04) and Frederica Wilson (FL-24), led 77 colleagues on a letter demanding the Department of Education and the Department of Justice to protect English Learners. The agencies recently rescinded 2015 federal guidance that clarified states' obligations to English Learner students. This rollback threatens to weaken enforcement of existing laws, strip protections for nearly 5 million students nationwide, and limit the ability of parents with limited English proficiency to make informed decisions about their children's education.

The letter calls on the Departments of Education and Justice to:

• Reinstate the 2015 guidance;
• Fully fund and staff the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) and Office of Civil Rights (OCR);
  
• Restore monitoring and enforcement mechanisms; and
  Clarify how they will enforce existing laws and precedents in practice.
  

"Every student in our nation deserves the opportunity to learn, grow and achieve," said Representative Espaillat. "Yet, the latest actions of the Department of Education are focused on stripping away the progress we have made to support millions of English Learner (EL) students. We cannot afford to leave these students and their families behind. We must do all that it takes to reverse course and put into place protections that will help them thrive."

"This Administration is doing all it can to create an underclass of people by denying even the most basic right, like education, to people with immigrant roots. Nearly 5 million English Learning students nationwide rely on schools to meet their legal obligations regarding their education, and most of them are U.S. citizens. I once was one of these children, and without the additional resources that helped me become fluent, I would not have thrived," said Rep. García. "Let me be clear: the law is still the law; pulling the guidance sends a dangerous signal that compliance is optional. This rollback undermines transparency, weakens enforcement and makes it harder for parents with limited English proficiency to make informed choices about their children's education."

"I represent an immigrant-rich community. In South Florida-and across the nation-many of our children in schools are English learners simply trying to build their futures. America is built by immigrants from every walk of life, yet this administration will stop at nothing to terrorize immigrants through every possible avenue, even targeting children in the classrooms," said Rep. Wilson. "Ripping away resources and guidance for English learners is a cruel and foolish decision. Our education system has always had an obligation to welcome every child who comes through our doors. Stripping away these English learning resources undermines the rights of millions of children, weakens our ability to help them become the English speakers the President claims to want, and betrays this nation's commitment to immigrants. This decision must be reversed immediately."

"Rescinding this civil rights guidance is the latest assault on English learner children by the Trump Administration. Ending the guidance must not be an excuse to deny a student's right to a quality education. We endorse Representative Garcia's call for the guidance's immediate reinstatement," said Janet Murguía, President and CEO, UnidosUS.

A full text of the letter can be found here.

# # #

Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his fifth term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government's vital activities and serves as Ranking Member of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee of the committee during the 119th Congress. He is Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), and serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.

Media inquiries: Candace Person at [email protected]