Virginia and Connecticut Focusing on English Language Learners in 2023 Legislation

The education world moves fast – faster than most of us comfortably keep up with, even if it’s the sector we’ve spent our working lives in. It can feel at times like we’re on a whistle-stop tour of testing data, strategy change, post-pandemic problem-solving and new responses to age-old questions. ?

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Coming to English as an additional language isn’t easy for the majority of learners. For those who have grown up around different languages and developed fluency in them, the transition can be stressful and emotionally draining, especially if they’re moving from a no-English or a low-English environment to full immersion into an English-language educational setting.??

Support is vital in helping them thrive and develop the language access that they need in order to succeed academically— and for ELLs in the state of Virginia, that support has just received a lot more attention and a prospective boost to the support package for ELLs already available in the state.??

What’s Happening in Virginia???

Senator Gazala Hashmi (D) and Delegate John Avoli (R) have introduced two sets of identical legislation on the subject of English Language Learners for the 2023 session.??

SB 1109 and HB 1823 (Establishing College and Career Readiness for English Language Learners Grant Program and Fund) is set to support ELL students as they prepare for school leaving and future opportunities in education, helping them access post-secondary learning in a variety of academic and vocational forms. ?

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SB1118 and HB1824 instigate the creation of an English as a Second Language Incentive Reward Program and Fund to incentivize the training and retention of educators specializing in English Language Learning in the pre-college bracket.??

Both bills prioritize grants to school divisions with less than 3,000 students and school divisions outlined by the US Census Bureau’s SAIPE Program to have poverty rates above 20%.??

The ELL Landscape in Virginia??

Senator Hashmi proposed a similar bill in 2021, focusing on funding more teaching positions to support English Language Learners passed on the proficiency level of the student, however the legislation did not clear the House of Delegates.???

Historically, the state of Virginia has been subject to criticism regarding the level of funding ELLs receive in comparison to their peers from other states across the wider US. A December 2022 report from the policy group The Education Trust posits that Virginia public school districts serving the highest number of ELL students receive 48% less state revenue per student than those serving the fewest ELL students. This puts Virginia last on the list in this category compared to every other state.?

By the EdTrust data, around 10% of students in Virginia are English language Learners. The majority of these learners speak Spanish as their first or home language. The second and third most common first languages spoken in the state are Chinese and Vietnamese, making up less than 1% of the state’s spoken language background each.??

Returning to the EdTrust data, Virginia also is ranked in the bottom third of all states in terms of funding disparities affecting districts with high levels of poverty and material deprivation and districts serving the highest amount of students from minority backgrounds.?

Where Else is Focusing on ELL in 2023??

Virginia is far from the only state looking to reform or add to ELL provision in the early days of 2023: Connecticut is also focusing on English Language Learners in terms of recently proposed legislature. Rep. Antonio Felipe and Rep. Juan R. Candelaria introduced House Bill 6211 this month, which would establish an English Language Learner Parent Bill of Rights in the state.??

The Bill would include that the parents on an ELL student have the right for information to be communicated in the language instruction program that their child is taught in, in addition to the presentation and clarification of 17 rights, including that children may receive a free public education regardless of immigration status and that parents are able to request a qualified translator for ‘critical interactions’.?

All told, it’s a time of focus and change for ELL learners and educators alike as we move into the new year, new challenges, and pandemic recovery proper.

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