On August 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education quietly rescinded a set of federal guidelines that had, for a decade, served as the backbone for how public schools across the country supported students learning English as a second language. The 40-page guidance, first issued in 2015 during the Obama administration, brought together a patchwork of legal requirements, case law, and practical advice to ensure that more than 5 million English learners—many from immigrant families—could both acquire English and access the full content of their classes. With the guidance now gone, educators, advocates, and families are left grappling with uncertainty and concern about the future of language support in American schools.
According to reporting by The Washington Post and Chalkbeat, the rescinded guidance had been a crucial resource for teachers and administrators. It laid out, in clear language, how to identify English learners, how to help them acquire English skills, and how to ensure they understood the academic content being taught. The document also required schools to translate important notices for parents into languages they could understand, and to provide free oral translation when written versions weren’t possible. For many educators, it was more than just a bureaucratic memo—it was, as Montserrat Garibay of the National Association for Bilingual Education put it, a “bible.”
“A lot of people are very worried at the state and district level,” Garibay told Chalkbeat. Without the guidance, “there’s a high risk that EL students are not going to be receiving their linguistic and their academic support that they need.” Garibay, who previously led the Office of English Language Acquisition under President Biden, recalled how she would print out the guidance to train teachers in Texas. Teachers, she said, would highlight its pages and bring it to principals to ensure they were following the law and providing families with information in their native languages.
The sudden rescission of the guidance was not accompanied by a public announcement or detailed explanation. A red stamp simply appeared on the original document, marking it as formally withdrawn. When pressed by The Washington Post and Chalkbeat, a Department of Education spokesperson stated the guidance was rescinded because it “is not in line with Administration policy.” The Department did not elaborate on what specifically conflicted with the current administration’s priorities. The Justice Department, contacted for comment, referred reporters to a July memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi. That memo, sent to all federal agencies, directed them to comply with President Trump’s executive order declaring English the official language of the United States and called for the rescinding of any federal guidance requiring language services for people not proficient in English. The memo also signaled a coordinated effort to “minimize non-essential multilingual services” and to “redirect resources toward English-language education and assimilation.”
This policy shift is part of a broader set of moves by the Trump administration that have rattled educators and immigrant communities alike. In recent months, the Department of Education has laid off nearly all staff in its Office of English Language Acquisition, the team responsible for supporting English learners. The administration has also proposed eliminating dedicated Title III federal funding for English learners and immigrant students, and has begun winding down a federal website that offered toolkits and resources for educators working with English learners. According to Chalkbeat, the administration has even cleared the way for immigration agents to make arrests at or near schools, child care centers, and after-school programs—reversing a long-standing precedent that treated these locations as sensitive and off-limits for enforcement actions. The result, as reported by both The Washington Post and Chalkbeat, has been a climate of fear in many school communities, with some schools seeing drops in student attendance as families worry about deportation and the safety of their children.
Despite these sweeping changes, the underlying federal laws that protect the rights of English learners remain intact. The Supreme Court’s 1974 decision in Lau v. Nichols established that schools must take steps to help children overcome language barriers, ensuring they can access a meaningful education. Federal laws also prohibit discrimination based on national origin, which courts have interpreted to require language support for students who need it. However, as several advocates and educators pointed out, the rescinded guidance had served as a vital roadmap for how to comply with these laws in practical, day-to-day school operations. Without it, there is growing concern that schools may be left guessing about their responsibilities—or worse, may stop offering necessary supports altogether if they believe federal enforcement has ended.
This uncertainty is especially acute in states like California, where one in three public school students begin their education as English learners. For districts with large immigrant populations, the loss of federal guidance and funding could have far-reaching consequences. As the rescission does not change the law itself, parents and advocates may still have legal grounds to challenge schools that fail to provide adequate language support. Yet, as Garibay and other advocates note, the absence of clear federal direction makes it harder for schools to know if they are meeting their obligations—and harder for families to hold them accountable if they are not.
The contrast with the rights of students with disabilities is stark. Their protections are spelled out in detail in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, providing certainty for schools and families alike. For English learners, by contrast, the protections are scattered across Supreme Court cases and federal statutes, making clear, centralized guidance all the more important. The 2015 Dear Colleague letter, by gathering all these requirements in one place and providing concrete examples, had filled that gap.
Educators and advocates are now scrambling to fill the void. The National Association for Bilingual Education is planning training sessions to help schools navigate the loss of the guidance. Garibay emphasized that, while the laws have not changed, the practical effect of rescinding the guidance could be significant: “It’s going to be harder for schools to know if they’re complying with the law and to hold schools accountable when they’re not.”
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s broader approach to language and immigration policy continues to spark debate. Supporters argue that making English the official language and reducing multilingual services will encourage assimilation and streamline government operations. Critics, however, see these moves as part of a pattern of hostility toward immigrants and a retreat from the nation’s longstanding commitment to educational opportunity for all children, regardless of background.
As the new school year begins, educators across the country are left with more questions than answers. Will schools continue to provide the translation services and academic supports English learners need? Will families feel safe sending their children to school? And, perhaps most crucially, will the nation’s promise of equal educational opportunity survive this latest policy shift? For now, the answers remain uncertain—but the stakes, for millions of students and their families, could hardly be higher.
