Federal English Learner Data Tracks Students, Worries Some
Online tool counts K-12 non-native speakers.
The U-S Department of Education launched a new tool this week it says will help people understand more about students who are not native English speakers.
The English Learner Data Story is an interactive page on the Department of Education’s website. It uses charts and graphs – and a map – to show the number of K-12 students whose first language is not English in each school district in the U-S.
“That’s troubling and scary given the Trump administration’s demonization and persecution of immigrants,” said David Crim, spokesperson for the Michigan Education Association. “Looming over all of it is the Trump administration policies which have been very,very harmful to immigrants.”
The Department of Education says the purpose of the website is to dispel myths about English learners. The online tool is meant to answer three questions: who are “English Language Learners”; where are they; and what languages do they speak.
The site features a breakdown of languages spoken by English learners by district.
The Department of Education says the number of English learners in the U-S has increased by 50 percent since 2010.
“So, it’s something we’re going to keep an eye on,” Crim said.
