Education Department Pulls Back Rules Protecting English Learners

Rescinded rules raise fears students may lose essential support as federal guidance quietly disappears for ESL

Natalie C. Frank, Ph.D August 19, 2025

My Next Move [CC BY ND 2.0]

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Education has rescinded guidance that has for years directed schools to provide targeted support for students learning English. Education advocates warn that this move could leave millions of children without the services they need to succeed in the U.S.

The decision is part of a broader shift under the Trump administration to limit multilingual services across federal agencies. Advocates say this initiative could have far-reaching consequences for approximately five million English learners, many of whom were born in the United States. Critics argue the reversal signals a retreat from decades of legal enforcement requiring schools to support students who are not yet proficient in English.

This move follows President Donald Trump’s March 1 executive order which declared English as the nation’s “official language” and is part of broader immigration policies aimed at forcing stricter language and assimilation requirements. Last month, the Justice Department put out a memorandum directing federal agencies to align with the order, including revoking existing guidance that addressed the education of English-language learners.

Since March, the Education Department has also laid off most employees in its Office of English Language Acquisition and requested that Congress terminate funding for federal programs supporting English learners. Last week, advocates pointed out that the 2015 guidance document on English learners now carries a label stating it has been “rescinded” and remains online “for historical purposes only.”

Education Department spokeswoman Madi Biedermann confirmed the change, saying the guidance was rescinded because it “is not in line with Administration policy.” When asked whether a replacement document is will be adopted, a Justice Department spokesperson provided only a link to the July memorandum and declined further comment.

Federal law has long established that failing to provide resources for students who are not proficient in English can constitute national origin discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. By rescinding the guidance, the administration is effectively indicating that it may not enforce that longstanding interpretation. Traditionally, the Departments of Education and Justice have been responsible for ensuring schools comply with these protections.

In her memorandum, Attorney General Pam Bondi cited case law suggesting that treating non-English-proficient individuals differently does not automatically constitute discrimination based on national origin. Other federal guidance addressing language access across government services has also been suspended, with the Justice Department planning to issue new direction by mid-January outlining when multilingual assistance is “necessary,” Bondi said. The memorandum suggests that this effort intends to “promote assimilation over division.”

The implications for school districts remain uncertain, but advocates warn that withdrawing the 2015 guidance could result in weaker English instruction and erode decades of federal direction on providing English-language services.

“The Department of Education and the Department of Justice are walking away from 55 years of legal understanding and enforcement. I don’t think we can understate how important that is,” said Michael Pillera, an attorney who previously worked in the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights and now directs the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights.

Pillera noted that without federal oversight, some school districts, particularly those facing financial strain, may reduce services to English learners. “Schools were doing this because the Office for Civil Rights told them they had to. It’s going to ripple quickly,” he said.

Leslie Villegas, an education policy analyst at New America, said the rescission may not immediately change how districts operate but could encourage a sense that compliance is no longer being monitored. She added that districts with a history of compliance issues or ongoing civil rights investigations could be the first to reduce services.

Recent months have already seen the Justice Department notify at least three school districts in Boston, Newark, and Worcester, Massachusetts that federal monitoring ensuring services for English learners would end. While Worcester officials said they anticipated the move, Boston parent advocates expressed concern over the sudden change.

Supporters of immigration restrictions argue that easing requirements on schools could relieve financial pressure and allow resources to focus on students already proficient in English. “If you devote all these resources to these kids coming in completely unprepared, inevitably it will diminish the quality of education others are getting,” said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

Todd DuBois, communications director for U.S. English, said teaching English is essential but cautioned that multilingual programs can delay literacy in English. “Some education is needed to help bridge the gap,” he said, “but multilingualism can get in the way of teaching English literacy earlier in life.”

Legal requirements for English-language support come from two federal statutes. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on national origin, and the landmark 1974 Supreme Court case Lau v. Nichols interpreted this to mandate English-language services. The Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 requires schools to take appropriate steps for students who do not speak English, with the 1981 Castañeda v. Pickard ruling providing a framework to evaluate whether schools are meeting this obligation.

The 2015 guidance from the Departments of Education and Justice offered a 40-page roadmap for compliance, providing schools with clear steps to avoid potential federal investigations or penalties.

“For a teacher, it was kind of like the Bible,” said Montserrat Garibay, former head of the Office of English Language Acquisition. “If, in fact, we want our students to learn English, this needs to be in place.”

Bondi’s memorandum emphasized that federal agencies should focus on English education and assimilation, while determining that multilingual services are “nonessential.” Garibay criticized the approach, saying, “Instead of providing this office with more capacity and more resources to do exactly what the executive order says—to make sure that everybody speaks English—they are doing the total opposite.”

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said the federal government should not dictate how districts deliver services but said promoting English learning aligns with the goal of ensuring all residents are proficient. “I’m all for English-language education. We probably need to do even more of that,” he said. “If you’re going to let people in who don’t speak English, then you want them to be acquiring English as soon as possible.”