NEW YORK, NY — As threats to Title III funding and federal protections for English Language Learners/Multilingual Learners (ELLs/MLLs) grow, EdTrust-New York strongly opposes any proposal that reduces resources for these students. New York State must not move backward. Instead, the state must strengthen its commitment and prepare for potential federal funding disruptions by developing a plan that protects students.

New York must reform its current model for funding ELLs/MLLs, but the Rockefeller Institute’s proposal fails to deliver the improvements students need. EdTrust-New York’s New York School Funding Data tool shows that in several districts, schools serving the highest shares of multilingual learners spend less per student than schools serving the fewest. These inequities demand bold solutions, not cuts. Although New York increased funding for ELLs/MLLs last year, the state must continue designing a formula that fully funds their educational needs.

We urge lawmakers to recognize that many school systems struggle to move students to proficiency once they reach more advanced stages of English proficiency. As students gain English skills, keeping up with academic and linguistic demands becomes increasingly challenging. Research shows that students need four to seven years to develop academic proficiency in a new language. Therefore, the Rockefeller Institute’s proposal to focus on funding for the first three years of ELL/MLL identification is fundamentally flawed and contradicts research and best practice. While newcomers, especially Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE), need additional funding, students in the intermediate stages face a different set of academic challenges. Schools cannot accelerate language development without high-quality, content-based language and literacy instruction and a fully trained workforce of bilingual, English as a New Language, and content-area teachers. Reducing funding weights for students at more advanced levels of English language development deprives schools of the resources they need to help students reach proficiency in English and exit ELLs/MLLs status.

Any revision to the Foundation Aid Formula or Pupil Need Index must also address a broader set of needs than basic ELL/MLL enrollment. New York should allocate additional state funding for grants that promote evidence-based practices in the districts with the highest needs. The state must also address its severe shortage of bilingual education programs. The Rockefeller proposal doesn’t adequately address these challenges, and in some cases, undermines progress. If the state wants a tiered system, it must provide additional resources to districts that offer high-quality bilingual programming; an approach that longitudinal research shows produces stronger outcomes.

If New York intends to distribute funding based on need, then the state must provide targeted support for Long-Term ELLs, students receiving English language support for seven or more years, as well as dual-identified students with disabilities, groups who often lack bilingual education and high-quality content instruction earlier in their schooling. These gaps reflect long-standing funding failures and cannot be fixed by cutting state resources now. Before changing its funding model, New York must deepen its understanding of the investments required to support ELLs/MLLs. This process must include input from bilingual, ENL and content area educators, families and advocates. To design a funding approach that provides adequate resources to truly ensure success for ELLs/MLLs, the state must examine:

• The full cost of expanding high-quality bilingual programs statewide.
• The cost of certifying and training content teachers to instruct ELLs/MLLs effectively.
• How changes in ELL/MLL enrollment affect funding distribution as New York experiences growing populations of multilingual learners in rural and suburban areas.
• The overall investment necessary to build a sustainable, highly qualified bilingual and ENL educator workforce.
• Current funding, including federal Title III support, already falls short of what schools need to deliver on the state’s promise of a high-quality education for multilingual learners. The Rockefeller proposal does nothing to solve these challenges.
• New York must aim higher. Our ELLs/MLLs deserve a funding system that expands opportunity, closes gaps, and invests in their success.

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About EdTrust-New York: EdTrust-New York is dedicated to eliminating equity and opportunity gaps that hinder students from reaching their full potential. We focus on ensuring that students of color, including Black, Latinx, Native American, and Asian American and Pacific Islander students, and those from low-income backgrounds achieve high levels of success from early childhood through college. For more information, visit EdTrustNY.org