In recent days, some blue states governed by the Democratic Party are planning to increase spending on English language education. According to Title III of the Education Act, the federal government will fund K-12 English language instruction in public schools.
Previously, former President Trump signed an executive order declaring English as the official language of the United States. However, the document also stated that federal agencies could still decide independently whether and when to provide services in languages other than English.
Officials in New York state announced this week plans to increase school subsidies by $11 billion next year, with a significant portion earmarked for English language instruction for K-12 public school students. The state government plans to allocate $9.968 billion to serve students in New York City and throughout the state who are still learning English, a substantial increase from this year’s $7.135 billion. However, the related budget is still pending approval by the state legislature.
California Education Secretary Tony Thurmond hinted earlier this month during the first public discussion of the 2026 education budget proposal that he would commit to promoting bilingual immersion programs.
However, Thurmond also stated that the Education Department would first announce expenditures to assist 240,000 homeless students and plans to improve academic performance for African American and Native American students before providing more details on the aforementioned program.
Ira Mehlman, media director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, pointed out that sanctuary states like New York and California, which have accepted hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrant children during the Biden administration, are essentially accepting the responsibility of public school English language instruction expenses borne by taxpayers.
On December 18th, Mehlman told The Epoch Times, “Whether this is in the best interest of the majority of voters should be determined by taxpayers themselves if they are willing to pay.”
He added, “Many people are voting with their feet, choosing to leave New York state.”
According to information on the New York City public school system’s website, over the past four years, the district has added over 20,000 undocumented immigrant students. Based on a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, public schools cannot deny students enrollment based on their citizenship status. Mehlman noted that in a 5-4 decision, the justices ruled that a small group of students in Tyler, Texas, “did not constitute a significant burden.”
Mehlman pointed out that many states’ schools currently face heavy financial burdens, stating that “this may be an opportunity to reconsider this case.”
A report by the left-leaning think tank Brookings Institute in November highlighted that there are approximately 5 million English language learners in public K-12 schools across the United States, accounting for about 10% of the total student population, mostly concentrated in lower grades. These students are mostly born in the U.S., predominantly African American, Hispanic, and Asian American, residing in low-income communities.
According to data from the Education Commission of the States, except for Mississippi and Montana, all states provide funding for English language learning programs in public schools.