{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://grijalva.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-grijalva-introduces-english-language-learner-education-package-to-support-students-families-and-educators", "Rep. Grijalva Introduces English Language Learner Education Package to Support Students, Families, and Educators", "2026-09-21", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "AZ", "Adelita S. Grijalva", "G000606", "grijalva.house.gov", "grijalva", "https://grijalva.house.gov/media", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 Today, Congresswoman Adelita S. Grijalva introduced a package of English Language Learner bills, comprehensive legislation that includes the Reaching English Learners Act, the Families Learning and Understanding English Together (FLUENT) Act, and the Supporting Young Language Learners\u2019 Access to Bilingual Education (SYLLABLE) Act.\n\nEnglish Learners (ELs) make up 10.6% of the nation's K-12 population, totaling over 5 million public school students. This diverse demographic spans one in ten students nationwide, including native speakers of Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic, and many other languages. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the high school graduation rate for ELs sits at just 68 percent, compared to 85 percent for their non-EL peers.\n\nTogether, these bills would provide sustained investments in programs, partnerships, and services that support English learners, their families, and the educators who serve them.\n\nThe package includes:\n\nThe Reaching English Learners Act would strengthen partnerships between institutions of higher education and high-need local educational agencies through competitive grants. The U.S. Department of Education reports that 32 states and the District of Columbia lack enough qualified EL educators. These grants would help pre-service teachers obtain English as a Second Language (ESL) licensure and prepare more educators to meet the needs of English learners.\n\nThe Families Learning and Understanding English Together (FLUENT) Act would expand literacy services for families of English learners with unmet literacy needs. By increasing access to literacy education and resources, the bill would help families strengthen educational, social, and economic opportunities.\n\nThe Supporting Young Language Learners\u2019 Access to Bilingual Education (SYLLABLE) Act would strengthen bilingual education through targeted investments in dual-language immersion programs and support innovative strategies at local educational agencies serving students from low-income communities, communities of color, and English learner backgrounds, particularly students in preschool through fifth grade. The bill would help expand opportunities for students to develop bilingualism, biliteracy, and cross-cultural competency while preparing them to succeed in an increasingly multilingual workforce.\n\n\u201cEvery child deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed, and that starts with ensuring that our schools have the proper resources to teach students of all backgrounds,\u201d said Rep Grijalva. \u201cEnglish learners bring so much to our classrooms, communities, and workforce. We should be investing in their success, and supporting their families and the educators who help them thrive. This package is about giving every student a fair shot and building stronger schools and communities for all of us.\u201d", 1, "2026-09-22T09:42:49Z", "2026-09-22T09:44:35Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://grijalva.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-grijalva-introduces-english-language-learner-education-package-to-support-students-families-and-educators"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9244102984666824, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}