Advocates Seek to End Schools' Immigrant Language Access Gap | Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.

"In the United States, the lack of interpreters, bilingual teachers, and English Language Learner (ELL) programs leaves many immigrant children without the linguistic support they need to learn, a problem only exacerbated by recent cuts to US Department of Education by the administration of President Donald Trump. The absence of interpreters and translators directly affects the relationship between immigrant families and schools. Parents who do not speak English face barriers when enrolling their children, attending school meetings, and reviewing disciplinary processes."

"An audit released in September 2025 by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander found that some ELL students in the city "did not receive or were delayed in receiving services to which they were entitled to, and, ultimately, did not have equal access to school programs and services." Students without linguistic support are excluded from curricular content, impacting both academic performance and emotional wellbeing. New York City is hardly the only school system that struggles to meet student language access needs."

Many U.S. public schools lack interpreters, bilingual teachers, and ELL programs, leaving immigrant children without linguistic support necessary for learning. The shortage of interpreters and translators disrupts family-school relationships and creates barriers to enrollment, meetings, and disciplinary processes. In classrooms, students without language support are excluded from curricular content, undermining academic performance and emotional wellbeing. A September 2025 audit by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander found some ELL students did not receive or were delayed in receiving entitled services, denying equal access to programs. Federal anti-immigrant campaigns and education funding cuts have constrained local policy responses, while large districts see high concentrations of non-English-first-language students.

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