On January 7, 2015, the Departments of Education and Justice issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) which outlined legal obligations to English Learners under civil rights laws.

The English Learner Toolkit (now updated to align with ESSA) helps state and local education agencies help English Learners (ELs) by fulfilling these obligations.

The Toolkit has 10 chapters (one for each section of the DCL), and contains an overview, sample tools, and resources.

New Download the entire English Learner Toolkit (PDF, 8MB)

Introduction

• Cover Page (PDF, 335KB)

• English Introduction (PDF, 294KB)

• Introduction Translations:

  • Chinese simplified (PDF, 82KB)
  • Chinese traditional (PDF, 136KB)
  • Spanish (PDF, 65KB)
  • Lao (PDF, 91KB)
  • Korean (PDF, 140KB)
  • Hmong (PDF, 60KB)
  • Khmer (Cambodian) (PDF, 401KB)
  • Russian (PDF 426KB)
  • Tagalog (PDF, 274KB)
  • Vietnamese (PDF, 349KB)

Chapters

1. Identifying All English Learner Students (PDF, 1.5MB)
2. Providing English Learners with a Language Assistance Program (PDF, 800KB)
3. Staffing and Supporting an EL Program (PDF, 921KB)
4. Meaningful Access to Core Curricular, Extra Curricular Programs (PDF, 1.75MB)
5. Creating an Inclusive Environment and Avoiding Unnecessary Segregation (PDF, 910KB)
6. Addressing English Learners with Disabilities (PDF, 1.27MB)
7. Serving English Learners who Opt-Out of EL Programs (PDF, 386KB)
8. Monitoring and Exiting English Learners from EL Programs and Services (PDF, 1.23MB)
9. Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Districts EL Program (PDF, 907KB)
10. Ensuring Meaningful Communication with Limited English Proficient Parents (PDF, 1.26MB)

To request the tool kit in an alternate format as a reasonable accommodation, i.e. Braille, large print, CD Rom or audio, please contact Melissa Escalante by phone, 202-401-1407 or email at: Melissa.Escalante@ed.gov.