🧭 Trends for English Language Teachers Next School Year: What to Expect and How to Prepare

The coming school year brings monumental shifts to English Language education across the U.S. Changes in federal funding, institutional oversight, and student needs are combining to reshape the way EL programs operate. Below, we break down seven key trends — each one backed by recent reporting and research — to help you understand what’s ahead and how to respond.

📉 1. Federal Funding Cuts to EL Programs

The proposed FY 2026 federal budget includes the complete elimination of Title III, a $890 million program that supports English language acquisition through teacher training, materials, family engagement, and accountability structures.

What this means:

• Schools will lose funding for essential services like newcomer onboarding and small-group interventions.

• Districts may consolidate EL roles, reducing language support capacity.

• Teachers will be expected to stretch core content and scaffold language without resources or planning time.

This comes at a time when ELs make up over 10% of the public school population, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

🏛️ 2. Downsizing the Department of Education and What It Means for ELs

In March 2025, the Trump administration signed an executive order directing steps to reduce and reorganize the U.S. Department of Education. Though full elimination would require Congress, large-scale downsizing is already happening — including the firing of most staff in the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA).

What this means:

• Federal oversight of EL programs will shrink, leaving states to interpret and enforce civil rights laws for ELs.

• States with limited infrastructure for EL education may not maintain consistent service levels.

• The loss of OELA could reduce access to national research, technical assistance, and accountability benchmarks.

While some local control can lead to innovation, it also creates a patchwork of services with potential for deep inequities between districts and states.

📚 3. Reduction in Professional Development Opportunities

As districts respond to funding loss, professional development (PD) is among the first areas cut, especially for specialized roles like EL. According to New America, consistent, high-quality PD is essential for improving outcomes for multilingual learners — especially as standards, technologies, and student demographics evolve.

What this means:

• Teachers may lack training in differentiated instruction, structured literacy, or trauma-informed care.

• General ed teachers supporting ELs in inclusion classrooms will also go without needed training.

• Educators may turn to informal or self-funded PD to stay up to date.

Without investment in PD, gaps in instructional quality between teachers and across schools are likely to grow.

🧠 4. Increased Emotional and Academic Needs of Students

The compound effect of immigration-related stress, learning loss from the pandemic, and displacement due to global instability has led to increased emotional vulnerability in EL students. A 2023 report by The Century Foundation found that ELs are now more likely to report anxiety, depression, and disengagement than their peers.

What this means:

• Students may be physically present but mentally disengaged.

• Educators often act as unofficial social workers or emotional supports.

• Schools with limited mental health staffing will struggle to meet demand.

Language learning is inseparable from emotional regulation. When students feel unsafe, unsupported, or unseen, they cannot fully access or retain new language.

🧑‍🏫 5. English Language Teacher Shortages and Increased Workloads

EL teacher shortages — already a problem pre-pandemic — have worsened. According to Teachers of Tomorrow, the number of EL-certified teachers is shrinking while demand remains steady or rising in many districts.

What this means:

• EL teachers are covering more grades, more sites, and more students.

• Mixed-proficiency classrooms (e.g., newcomers and LTELs together) are becoming the norm.

• Planning and collaboration time is often sacrificed to keep up with caseloads.

Overextension leads to instructional shortcuts, reduced individual attention, and faster burnout — all of which lower the quality of EL instruction.

🔗 6. Disconnect Between EL and Content-Area Instruction

With fewer resources and support personnel, collaboration between EL and content-area teachers is breaking down. A 2016 study published in Steeplechase: The Murray State Journal of Research and Practice highlighted that English learners often face systemic barriers to fully participating in core academic classes when language support is not embedded in the curriculum.

What this means:

• ELs may understand content but fail to demonstrate it due to language barriers.

• Content teachers may rely on simplified materials or avoid complex assignments for ELs.

• Academic gaps widen even as conversational fluency improves.

When EL is seen as a separate “subject” rather than a shared responsibility, students fall behind in math, science, and history — limiting their long-term academic potential.

🔍 7. The Growing Need for Innovation

In this climate of contraction, the most successful programs will be those that innovate around constraints. This includes:

• Leveraging tech tools like AIR Language that provide adaptive reading support and self-paced instruction.

• Building community partnerships for mentoring, wraparound services, and bilingual support.

• Forming teacher networks that offer peer-led PD, resource sharing, and emotional support.

• 
  

Emerging research — including a recent arXiv study on AI and multilingual support — shows promising results for edtech solutions that personalize instruction and lower the prep burden on teachers.

🧩 Final Word: English Language Teachers Are the First Line of Equity

The trends ahead are daunting. But they also present a chance to rethink what’s essential, re-center language equity, and push for solutions that value both the human and academic needs of English learners.

For more on how to build stronger EL programs amid these challenges, read:

👉 Why High School English Language Programs Fail—and How to Fix Them