The IELCE Program: Understanding Its Design and Challenges in Meeting Immigrant Learners’ Needs
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Highlights
The Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) program struggles to reach immigrant learners because entry barriers are high and enrollment low.
- Created under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) in 2014, IELCE combines English, civics, and workforce training for adult immigrants, yet only about 10 to 12 percent of participants joined integrated education and training (IET) activities in program years 2017 to 2019.
- High English proficiency and education thresholds, legal status rules, and time and financial burdens exclude many immigrants from IET, particularly those most in need of integration-oriented learning.
- Community-based organizations face disproportionate challenges meeting IET requirements, contributing to a decline in IELCE providers from 756 in 2016 to 598 two years later, with CBOs and school districts hit hardest.
State adult education systems, which receive significant funding from the U.S. government, are the primary source of many key integration services for adult immigrants—from English classes and literacy programs to civics courses and some workforce development activities. Although such programs have existed for decades, the passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) in 2014 brought notable changes to adult education systems, including through its instituting of the Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) program.
The implementation of IELCE, which began in 2016, has led to the development of many innovative programs that serve the objectives of increasing participants’ English proficiency along with economic and civic integration. Yet the reach of these programs, and especially their employment-focused Integrated Education and Training (IET) component, has been limited by relatively low enrollment and demand as well as barriers to participation. In addition, the IET requirement attached to IELCE has placed a significant burden on adult education providers and appears to crowd out important efforts to support immigrants’ broader economic, civic, and social integration.
This report, which represents one of the first public studies of IELCE, examines the program's design and the challenges it has faced, including those related to accessibility, practicality, and demand. The study also discusses ways the federal government and states could better ensure that integration programs are able to meet immigrant learners’ wide array of integration needs and goals.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 The Purpose and Design of IELCE
A. Integrated Education and Training in Section 243 Programs
B. Access to IET and Non-IET IELCE Programs under Section 243
C. Varying State Regulations for Section 243 IELCE Programs
3 The Implementation of IELCE: Effects on Providers, Students, and Potential Participants
A. Challenges for Providers in Building and Maintaining IELCE-IET Programs
B. Who Is Served by IELCE Programs?
4 Recommendations and Conclusion
About the National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy
The Center is a national hub connecting policymakers, educators, community leaders, and service providers with evidence-informed policy research, technical assistance, and data to advance effective immigrant integration at U.S., state, and local levels.
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