TESOL Statement on the Rescission of Guidance on Serving Multilingual Learners of English in U.S. Public Schools

TESOL International Association opposes the U.S. federal government’s decision, announced the week of 11 August 2025, to rescind the January 2015 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) issued by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division (CRT) and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Although the rescission does not alter U.S. law or change the responsibilities of state and local education agencies (SEAs and LEAs) to provide quality education for multilingual learners of English (MLEs) and ensure families have access to information and can make informed decisions, it raises questions about how states, school districts, educators, paraprofessionals, and administrators will continue to meet these obligations for a growing MLE population.

This guidance long provided clarity on how LEAs and SEAs, along with schools and educators, protect the civil rights of MLEs under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act. Combined with other recent federal actions reducing language access for public services, the withdrawal of this guidance threatens the schooling of more than 5 million MLEs nationwide, the majority of whom are U.S. citizens, and undermines the ability of their families to participate fully in their children’s education.

We encourage all educators, schools, and communities to be aware of and advocate for the right and access to education for all MLEs. TESOL will work with its colleague associations to address the U.S. Department of Education directly, advocating for the reinstatement of the DCL.

For more information and background on the impact of this rescission, the laws that govern civil rights, and meaningful advocacy for MLEs, educators, schools, and communities, please see this overview. Please feel free to use and share this information in your local and state advocacy efforts.