08/23/2025

Department of Education Quietly Removes Rules for Teaching English Learners

The move accelerates Trump’s EO declaring English the nation's "official language"

The Trump administration has quietly rescinded long-standing guidance that directed schools to accommodate students who are learning English, alarming advocates who fear that schools will stop offering assistance if the federal government quits enforcing the laws that require it.

The rescission, confirmed by the Department of Education on Tuesday, is one of several moves by the administration to scale back support for approximately 5 million schoolchildren not fluent in English, many of them born in the United States. It is also among the first steps in a broader push by the Trump administration to remove multi-lingual services from federal agencies across the board, an effort the Department of Justice (DOJ) has ramped up in recent weeks.

The moves are an acceleration of President Donald Trump's March 1 executive order declaring English the country's "official language," and they come as the administration is broadly targeting immigrants through its deportation campaign and other policy changes. The DOJ sent a memorandum to all federal agencies last month directing them to follow Trump's order, including by rescinding guidance related to rules about English-language learners.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.