Despite denials that Betsy DeVile (that’s no a typo) is not going to scrub the Department of English Learners, many fear that she is trying to do so and will not seek congressional approval to do so. The theory is that DeVile is interested in consolidating the OELA (Office of English Language Acquisition) and merging it with the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Advocates have the right to be concerned about a move like that. It would certainly send a strong message from Washington that English Learners are no longer a priority and that could trickle down into districts and wreak a whole lot of havoc that advocates and courts have spent years addressing and correcting. Civil rights groups have spent years fighting to make English learners a priority. Betsy DeVile seems more interested in promoting her white nationalist and education minimalist agenda than anything else. Such a move would support that theory.
Let’s brace ourselves for this possibility. We can demand that local school boards pass resolutions not just denouncing such a move but also doubling down on their commitment to all students in their districts, especially English Language Learners.