This past year brought both significant progress and profound challenges for English learners and immigrant students across California. As shifting federal policies placed new pressure on multilingual communities, the work to strengthen protections, expand opportunity, and center students’ voices became more urgent than ever.
Amid this landscape, Californians Together moved forward powerful research, advocacy, and coalition-building efforts—with educators, district leaders, policymakers, and partners across the state. As the year comes to a close, we look back on some of the milestones and accomplishments that shaped 2025.
Publications & Tools That Turn Research Into Action
In 2025, we introduced a suite of publications designed to help districts advance equitable outcomes for English learners today—not someday.
Highlights include:
• A High School Counselor’s Toolkit for English Learner Success
A practical guide aligned with the California English Learner Roadmap, supporting counselors in guiding students toward graduation, college, and career.
• Family Voices: Improving Engagement and Input in Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs)
Developed with community partners, this report elevates insights from families and offers district-level guidance for building stronger LCAP engagement. Also available in Spanish.
• Minding the Gap: How Do New LCAP Requirements Address Equity for English Learners?
Created in partnership with the Loyola Marymount Center for Equity for English Learners and the Consortium for Multilingual Success, this publication examines how districts are responding to new LCAP requirements—and where more action is needed.
• Teacher Education Digest: Effective Literacy Instruction for English/Emerging Bilingual Learners
Released with the National Committee for Effective Literacy, this digest highlights research-informed approaches for teacher preparation programs.
Alongside these releases, we launched our first paid professional development program Data to Action: Strengthening District Responses, serving more than 200 educators statewide. We also published Addressing the Needs of Long-Term English Learners, supporting districts in using data now reflected in the California School Dashboard.
Moving the Needle on Literacy
This year’s literacy work underscored a growing urgency: instruction and policy must meaningfully include and value linguistic diversity.
Voices from the Field, released with the National Committee for Effective Literacy, shared insights from nearly 80 educators implementing Science of Reading-aligned programs. The accompanying webinar recording has been viewed nearly 3,000 times—a testament to the field’s hunger for solutions that meet the needs of all learners.
A major policy win followed with the signing of AB 1454, new literacy legislation aligned with the state’s English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework and rooted in the belief that home language is an asset. Executive Director Martha Hernández joined Governor Newsom at the bill signing and later wrote in EdSource about the significance of this moment for students.
We also co-hosted the first-ever California Multilingual Literacy & Language Convening with TNTP, bringing educators together to strengthen inclusive literacy practice across the state.
Coalition Growth & Collective Advocacy
Our coalition expanded to 38 member organizations, including new partners:
- California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators
- CRLA
- EdVance College
- Internationals Network
- Multilingual Education for Early Childhood
- Multilingual Promise
- Teach Plus
The Consortium for Multilingual Learner Success launched a countywide narrative-change campaign featuring video testimonies—including one from Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.
Our English Learner Legacy and Initiative network led 18 legislative visits, advocated before state education bodies, and elevated English learners in discussions on accountability, materials adoption, P–3 credentialing, and assessment reporting.
Strengthening Early Childhood Systems
As California districts prepared to adopt a reading difficulties screener, we released Considerations and Suggestions When Adopting a Reading Difficulties Screener for Multilingual Learners in partnership with Teach Plus.
Additionally, through EL-WIN we published Ensuring a Multilingual-Ready Universal Pre-Kindergarten Workforce, offering recommendations to help the state build and support a multilingual early learning workforce.
Safe Schools in a Time of Federal Uncertainty
As federal policies shifted, Californians Together worked to ensure communities had timely, clear information. We responded when school-campus immigration protections were rescinded, and again when executive actions undermined multilingualism and civil rights.
In July, alongside national partners, we pushed successfully for the release of temporarily withheld Title III funds. To keep the field informed, we launched the Federal Policy Pulse, a newsletter tracking national developments impacting English learners.
Additional Victories Worth Celebrating
- AB 1255 became law—ensuring state-adopted instructional materials include resources for newcomer students.
- The state budget included dedicated funding to support statewide implementation of the California English Learner Roadmap.
- Our own Shelly Spiegel-Coleman was inducted into the Multilingual Education Hall of Fame.
Looking Ahead
This year made it clear: when we act together—families, educators, advocates, and policymakers—we can move policy, practice, and narrative toward a future where every student’s language is valued and every opportunity is within reach.
Thank you to our partners, coalition members, educators, and district leaders across the state. We look forward to continuing this work together in 2026.