ELK GROVE, Calif. —A decade after a report on long-term English learners in California shows the state is still lagging in helping these students. Long-term English learners are students who have been in school for six years but aren’t yet fluent.
“We should not have long-term English learners. We have the educational and policy tools, yes we need more support for what we already know is important to do,” said Julie Bollinger, director of English Learner Services at Elk Grove School District.
Of California’s more than 6 million public school students, more than one million are English learners, and 200,000 of those have been identified as long-term English learners (LETL).