A Shared Commitment: Supporting Multilingual Learners in California

The decision to close the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) within the U.S. Department of Education raises serious concerns about the future of federal support for multilingual learners.

While federal structures may change, the need to support multilingual learners—and the educators, schools, and communities that serve them—remains as urgent as ever.

California has long been a national leader in recognizing multilingualism as an asset and advancing policies and practices that help multilingual learners thrive. This moment calls on all of us to reaffirm that commitment and continue advocating for the students, families, and educators who benefit from strong multilingual education programs.

Together with fellow members of the Multilingual Education Policy Partners (MEPP), a coalition of organizations committed to advancing policies and practices that support multilingual learners, SEAL joined a collective statement calling for California to stay the course in supporting multilingual learners and highlighting resources that educators and community advocates can continue to reference in their efforts.

We remain committed to advancing the resources, protections, and opportunities multilingual learners deserve.

Read the full MEPP statement and explore shared resources for educators and community advocates.

The Multilingual Education Policy Partners (MEPP), a collective of the organizations signing on to this statement, bring together key leaders in the field of multilingual learner education tostrengthen the coherence, coordination, and implementation of California’s early childhood through higher education policies in service of multilingual learners.