House Democrats Call On Republicans to Drop Partisan Politics and Focus on Helping all Children Learn

Washington, DC (July 26, 2006) – More than four years after the enactment of the No Child Left Behind law, many states are still not able to adequately assess the progress that children of limited English proficiency are making towards becoming proficient in English, as the law requires, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

The report, which was prepared at the request of House Democrats and released by them today, also shows that students of limited English proficiency are not faring as well as their peers in reading, math, and science. In fact, nearly two-thirds of the 48 states examined by GAO did not reach their annual targets for the share of students with limited English proficiency able to read and do math and science at grade level.

Democratic lawmakers released the GAO report the same day that Republicans on the House Education and Workforce Committee were holding a hearing to examine views on making English the country’s official language. The hearing is part of a series of hearings sponsored by Republicans to distract the public from the fact that they are not going to pass immigration reform legislation before September.

“If we do not get the No Child Left Behind Act right for limited English proficient students, the law will fail millions of children throughout the country,” said Hinojosa, who requested the GAO study along with Reps. George Miller (D-CA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).  “For too long, funding for programs for limited English proficient children has languished, and their full inclusion in the accountability system has been neglected. Congress should act quickly to ensure that No Child Left Behind is on the right course for LEP children so they really aren't left behind.”

“English is not the primary language for millions of students in our schools. If Republicans really wanted to help non-native English speaking children get ahead and participate fully in American life, they would help schools improve English education and make sure that states are evaluating the academic progress of all children,” said Grijalva, a member of the House Education and Workforce Committee. “Promoting English as the only acceptable language is a mean-spirited and divisive proposal that won’t do anything to help immigrants become part of our communities.”

The No Child Left Behind Act requires states to administer assessments in grades three through eight to determine the share of children that can read and do math and science at grade level, with the goal of ensuring that 100 percent of children can read and do math and science at grade level by 2014.

The GAO report raised concerns that many states are not administering valid and reliable reading, math, and science assessments to students of limited English proficiency. And states still have not developed assessments to measure students’ progress towards achieving English language proficiency, which is also required by No Child Left Behind.

Even four years into the No Child Left Behind law, the U.S. Department of Education has failed to fully and adequately implement provisions of the law relating to children who need to learn English. Hinojosa and Grijalva said that Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Buck McKeon should hold oversight hearings on the issue to find out what more must be done to meet the goals of the law. The lawmakers also said that the failure of the President and Congress to fully fund the law makes it more difficult for states to afford to develop assessments for students with limited English proficiency.

According to the GAO, there are 5 million children with limited English proficiency enrolled in U.S. public schools during the 2003-04 school year. Those children made up about 10 percent of total enrollment. They speak over 400 languages; 80 percent of them speak Spanish.