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Education Slice
National
Lawmakers push back against plans to close English learners office

House Democrats are urging Education Secretary Linda McMahon to abandon plans to dismantle the Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), warning the move could weaken support for more than 5m English learners across the United States. In a letter sent May 12, lawmakers argued that eliminating the standalone office would disrupt oversight of federal English learner programs, including nearly $890m in Title III funding and educator training grants. Under the Trump administration’s proposal, OELA’s responsibilities would be redistributed across other federal agencies and Education Department offices as part of a broader effort to “return education to the states.” Critics, including educators and English learner advocates, said dissolving the office risks undermining accountability and reducing specialized expertise needed to help schools meet legal obligations to English learners. Concerns have intensified after OELA staffing was reduced to a single employee during wider federal workforce cuts. Republican lawmakers supporting the plan argued the restructuring would streamline operations and integrate English learner programs more efficiently into broader education services. However, Democrats said Congress may pursue legislative options to preserve or reinstate OELA, including potential amendments requiring the office to remain permanently within the Education Department. The dispute comes amid broader federal policy changes affecting immigrant students and English learners, including the rollback of previous federal guidance on language access and immigration-related protections in schools.

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Education Slice
California
Reading crisis deepens for students

The U.S. is facing a significant reading crisis, with a new study revealing minimal progress in reading skills among students across most states. Researchers from Harvard, Stanford, and Dartmouth analyzed test scores from over 5,000 school districts and found that only five states, plus the District of Columbia, showed meaningful growth in reading from 2022 to 2025. "The pandemic was the mudslide that had followed seven years of steady erosion in achievement," said Thomas Kane, a Harvard professor involved in the study. However, California's Los Angeles Unified, Compton, and Modesto districts have emerged as bright spots, implementing phonics-based instruction and targeted support for struggling readers. Despite these successes, many students remain behind pre-pandemic levels, with California students about a third of a year behind in reading. The study highlights the need for effective teaching methods to address the ongoing reading recession.

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Education Slice
Texas
Texas schools struggle with learning losses

Texas school districts are grappling with significant learning losses post-pandemic, as highlighted in the Education Scorecard report by researchers from Harvard and Stanford. The report reveals that districts with either low or high percentages of low-income students are making more academic gains compared to middle-poverty districts, which have 30% to 70% of students receiving federal lunch subsidies. "The federal relief dollars were very highly targeted at the highest poverty districts," said Thomas Kane, a Harvard education professor. While some districts, like Spring Branch ISD, have improved their performance, many others, including Aldine ISD, are lagging significantly behind. The report urges state lawmakers to direct school improvement funds to middle- and higher-poverty districts that are still struggling to recover academically.

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Education Slice
Florida
Reading scores drop, but hope remains

Recent research indicates a troubling decline in U.S. reading scores, with students nearly half a grade level behind pre-pandemic levels. “The pandemic was the mudslide that had followed seven years of steady erosion in achievement,” said Thomas Kane, a Harvard professor involved in the analysis. While some states, like Louisiana and Alabama, have seen improvements through phonics-based instruction, the overall picture remains grim. The National Assessment of Educational Progress shows that reading scores for eighth graders have been falling since 2013. In contrast, math scores have improved in most states. Schools are now focusing on phonics and providing additional support for struggling readers, but challenges persist, particularly in urban districts like Detroit, where attendance and resources have been critical to progress.

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