Senator Rubio Champions $10 Million in Education Funding For English Learner Statewide Program

SACRAMENTO, CA – Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) announced today that the 2019-20 state budget includes $10 million that she secured to enhance the English Learner (EL) Roadmap, which provides additional resources for educators and administrators to support EL students reach academic success.

“My 17 years in the classroom has given me a clear understanding of the resources teachers need to help our English Learner students succeed academically,” said Sen. Rubio. “This funding will support our educators to help English Learners throughout the state acquire full-proficiency in English and achieve the same rigorous grade-level academic standards expected of all students.”

“We are thrilled to have worked with Senator Susan Rubio and our partners Californians Together and the California Association for Bilingual Education, to fight for this $10M which will help strengthen comprehensive educational policies, programs, and practices for EL students in Pre-K through 12th grade,” said Ted Lempert, president of Children Now. “This is a critical first step to ensure California's 1.4 million students receive a quality education—one out of every four public school students statewide are classified as EL students.”

According to the California Department of Education, the overall 2013-2014 graduation rate was 85.1 percent, while the rate for English-learner students was only 70.9 percent. EL students score substantially lower on state assessments than their non-English learner counterparts. Experts have found that EL students, at times, are misidentified as needing special education services, and as a result, California has an above-average percentage of ELs in special education.