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With the 2015 passage of the "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA), the oversight of language policy in U.S. schools shifted from federal to state governance. Although the education of students officially designated as English learners (ELs) has historically been grounded in federal law, we argue that ELs' educational experiences are also largely influenced by societal attitudes toward immigrants and immigration. Using a critical policy analysis (CPA) approach, we examine how 12 states' immigrant policy contexts are associated with the EL educational policies articulated in their ESSA implementation plans. We find that states' demographic and immigrant policy contexts combine to produce four distinct approaches toward EL education, from departing to approaching equity.

The back and forth migration of children and youth between the United States and Mexico has created a unique group of approximately nine million "students we share" who have been educated in both countries (Jensen and Sawyer 2013). The social, political, and economic interconnectivity of the United States and Mexico suggests that these trends are likely to continue, making the education of transnationally mobile students, or those students who have formative schooling experiences in both countries, a topic in critical need of research. This article presents findings from a systematic literature review and describes how sociopolitical, sociocultural, sociolinguistic, and socioemotional factors influence transnationally mobile students' educational experiences. We assert that future research on transnational education within the US-Mexico nexus and beyond should attend to the interconnectedness of these dimensions, rather than viewing them in isolation.

Purpose: Alongside the inequities surfaced by COVID-19, a confluence of demographic and policy-related shifts over the last few decades has elevated the education of multilingual learners (MLs) in state education agency (SEA) leaders' work. This study employs an ecological perspective to examine how SEA leaders promote social justice policy implementation in their efforts to uphold MLs' civil rights under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Research Methods: Given its embeddedness in a research-practice partnership (RPP) that emphasizes integration of researchers' expertise with SEA leaders' real-world knowledge, the study employs a participatory research approach. Drawing on 23 semistructured interviews with SEA leaders and 20 hours of observations during RPP meetings, the authors engaged in an iterative analysis process involving coding, memoing, and extensive member checking. Findings: Findings show the dual roles that leaders played to uphold the spirit of civil rights law across local education agencies (LEAs) and within SEAs, and they highlight the structural, cultural, and political dynamics that operated to enable or constrain this work. The study also reveals that cross-state collaboration may be a powerful mechanism for upholding ML civil rights in ways that go beyond compliance toward transformation and social justice. Implications: Although ESSA expanded the role of the SEA in policy implementation, little attention has been given to supporting state-level organizational development. Our findings suggest the need to allocate resources to support SEA capacity development. Such support is ever more critical as state systems work to develop coherent and aligned supports in response to COVID-19-related disparities.

Under federal civil rights law, U.S. school districts have a dual obligation to provide students identified as English learners (ELs) with designated English-language development (ELD) instruction and integrated ELD support during core content instruction. Drawing on an analysis of interviews with 96 educators in two large California districts, we use an ecological approach to explore how district and school staff navigated the provision of designated ELD at the secondary level. Findings revealed that state and school structures shaped district culture in ways that deemphasized designated ELD for ELs across proficiency levels. Rather than emphasizing integrated ELD approaches that foster language development through content, however, these structural and cultural dynamics meant that many ELs received few, if any, linguistic supports. Although federal oversight and leaders' agency helped to shift this trend and support ELs' access to ELD, the primary mode of delivery was through required ELD courses, which research shows can preclude ELs' access to core content. These findings have important implications for policymakers and leaders seeking to ensure that all ELs have equitable access to language and content instruction.

Purpose: Although schools across the United States are becoming increasingly linguistically and culturally diverse, many teachers remain underprepared to work with students classified as English learners (ELs), especially at the secondary level. Acknowledging the importance of developing systems of support for teachers of ELs, this paper examines the district- and school-level factors shaping secondary teachers' access to EL-focused professional learning in one large urban school district. Design/methodology/approach: To examine teachers' access to EL-focused professional learning, the authors draw on 49 in-depth interviews with district leaders and staff from nine secondary schools. Data analysis was guided by a structure, culture and agency theoretical framework. Findings: Findings revealed that decreased structural support, in terms of both fiscal and human resources, constrained teachers' access to EL-related professional learning. Further, the district culture was characterized by limited understanding of ELs' backgrounds and assets. While some school leaders exercised agency to bolster EL-focused professional learning for teachers, such supports were rare. Practical implications: Findings help to contextualize secondary teachers' feelings of unpreparedness to serve ELs, illuminating several factors that district and school leaders should attend to in order to bolster the development of professional capital for teachers of ELs at the secondary level. Originality/value: While prior research outlines the importance of designing systems of support for EL-focused professional learning, this study highlights specific structural and cultural factors shaping such systems.

The aim of this research was to explore whether and how various components of cross-border sociocultural competence were attended to in bilingual schools serving Polish minorities in the Zaolzie border region. Zaolzie is on the Czech side of the Polish-Czech border region, where the Polish minority play an important role in cross-border relations. Based on a review of the extant literature on the development of sociocultural competence among students enrolled in bilingual programs, researchers developed a 19-item survey capturing three distinct components of cross-border sociocultural competence: cognitive, social, and political. The survey was sent to teachers in the 14 Zaolzie region schools, with 123 teachers (44%) participating and asked participants to indicate the extent to which different facets of cross-border sociocultural competence were part of their school's instructional program. Most participants were female-identifying and had over 10 years of teaching experience, and most were born on the Czech side of the border but identified as Polish nationals. Results from an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed two unique factors representing different components of sociocultural competence included in bilingual programs in the Zaolzie region: (1) the development of students' intrapersonal skills, motivation, and cross-linguistic understanding, and (2) the development of students' capacity to engage interpersonally with and to understand others in the region. These findings suggest that schools in the Zaolzie region attend to cross-border sociocultural competence through both an intra- and interpersonal lens, emphasizing individual students' linguistic and cultural development as well as their ability to interact in their highly politicized cross-border context. Educators in the region can thus consider assessing students' progress in these two areas over time as measures of program effectiveness. Given that the researchers found that cognitive, social, and political aspects of sociocultural competence were integrated across intra- and interpersonal dimensions, more research is needed to understand if this integration is unique to the teaching of cross-border sociocultural competence in the Zaolzie region or is taught similarly in other contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the 2015 passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the oversight of language policy in U.S. schools shifted from federal to state governance. Although the education of students officially designated as English learners (ELs) has historically been grounded in federal law, we argue that ELs' educational experiences are also largely influenced by societal attitudes toward immigrants and immigration. Using a critical policy analysis (CPA) approach, we examine how 12 states' immigrant policy contexts are associated with the EL educational policies articulated in their ESSA implementation plans. We find that states' demographic and immigrant policy contexts combine to produce four distinct approaches toward EL education, from departing to approaching equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic presents unprecedented challenges to educational equity for multilingual learners (MLLs) and their families. Given that state education agencies play a prominent role in guiding and supporting schools and districts, they are well-positioned to ensure civil rights obligations for MLLs are upheld amidst the pandemic. This article reports findings from a policy analysis of over 150 state guidance documents related to the COVID-19 pandemic, collected across 50 states and the District of Columbia. Documents were reviewed to examine the extent to which states addressed key issues pertaining to MLL education, as well as how they characterized MLL students and families. Findings reveal substantial variation in the depth of states' guidance focused on six areas of MLL policy, which corresponded with whether characterizations of MLL students and families focused on their assets or perceived deficits. Gaps in guidance across states included partnering with MLL families to support student learning and supporting ongoing assessment practices. Implications for policy and research are presented that consider how state leaders can support schools and districts in attending to equity for MLLs amidst the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]