SUPPORTING ENGLISH LEARNERS

English Learners (ELs) are the fastest-growing major student population in the United States, and 

America’s long-term prosperity is linked to whether these students graduate from high school with 

the skills and knowledge they need for college and careers. ELs face the dual challenges of learning 

English and learning academic content at the same time. Results from the most recent National 

Assessment of Educational Progress show that those competing challenges lead to performance 

levels far below those of their English-proficient peers in mathematics, reading, and science. 

Moreover, the areas of the country with the greatest increases in the number of ELs are often those 

that have less experience serving these students, and we must ensure that these States, districts, and 

schools are able to meet the needs of ELs.

The President’s 2014 budget addresses the needs of ELs through a number of different programs, 

providing significant investments in their education and funding the implementation of key reforms. 

• Dedicated funding for English Learner Education ($732 million). The Administration is 

maintaining its commitment to supporting States and districts in operating high-quality language 

instruction educational programs by continuing to provide significant formula funding to all 

States for English Learner Education. This request would also provide grants for the 

preparation and training of teachers of ELs, and would fund evaluation activities and a 

clearinghouse for the dissemination of research-based information on effective methods, 

programs, and strategies for ELs. 

• Promise Neighborhoods program ($300 million). This program supports projects that 

significantly improve the educational and developmental outcomes of children and youth by 

providing a cradle-to-career continuum of ambitious, rigorous, and comprehensive education 

reforms, effective community services, and strong systems of family and community support –

with high-quality schools at the center. Grantees will plan and implement these projects for all 

children and youth in the community, including ELs and their families, and many of the current 

grantees serve communities with high percentages of ELs. Of the 22 current grantees, eleven 

are working with schools where more than 25 percent of students are ELs, and another grantee 

is in a community where more than 40 percent of the residents speak a language other than 

English at home.

• English Literacy/Civics Education State Grants ($75 million). These Adult Education 

grants support projects that provide and increase access to English literacy programs that 

incorporate civics education. Classes introduce students to civics-related content and provide 

them with opportunities to apply that knowledge in their daily lives while building their English 

language and literacy skills. Services address the needs of immigrant and other limited English 

proficient adults, including high-skilled immigrants with degrees and credentials in their native 

countries.
• Strengthening English Learner Education through the reauthorization of the 

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The President’s ESEA proposal would 

strengthen this program by requiring States to implement valid and reliable assessments of 

English language proficiency, consistently identify ELs, and evaluate the effectiveness of 

programs for ELs. It would also provide new competitive grants to support innovative effective

or promising practices, including dual-language programs that promote literacy in both English 

and students’ home languages.