E.g., 06/27/2026
E.g., 06/27/2026
NCIIP: Early Childhood and K-12 Education

NCIIP: Early Childhood and K-12 Education

Three parents holding toddlers in a preschool classroom
iStock.com/FG Trade Latin

Active family engagement is essential to ensuring children benefit fully from early childhood education and care programs. Yet language barriers and cultural misunderstandings can sometimes keep educators and the families of Dual Language Learners (DLLs) from forming this important partnership. This policy brief explores strategies to better utilize federal funding to engage with DLL children and families.

Children in a classroom writing at their desks
iStock.com/AJ_Watt

Native language assessments are an important tool for measuring what K–12 English Learner (EL) students know in core academic subjects, independent of their English proficiency level. This fact sheet provides an overview of which states offer assessments in students’ home languages, for which subjects, and how this landscape has changed in recent years.

Young children play with building blocks at daycare
iStock.com/Gorodenkoff

Although one-third of U.S. young children have a parent who speaks a language other than English, early childhood educators often lack the tools to effectively monitor the development of those not in monolingual, English-speaking households. This issue brief examines why many preschool classroom assessments are a poor fit for Dual Language Learners, and ways to make them more effective for diverse populations.

Mother and daughter playing on a playground
iStock.com/Naypong

Immigrants comprise 15 percent of Connecticut’s population, and nearly 30 percent of children in the state are part of immigrant families. Having driven all state population and workforce growth over the last 15 years, immigrants are an important part of Connecticut’s present and its future. This report examines state policies and systems that aim to support upward mobility for all families, highlighting ways in which they could better meet the needs of low-income immigrant families.

Two preschool students thread beads on a string in a classroom
Allison Shelley/EDUimages

Dual Language Learners (DLLs)—young children with at least one parent who speaks a language other than English—make up one-third of all children ages 0–5 in the United States. This fact sheet series and related resources provide essential data on the number and characteristics of DLL children and their families nationwide and in the 30 states with the most DLLs.

School desks in a classroom
iStock.com/diane39

U.S. schools are developing guidance to govern responses in the event of ICE operations. Safe zone initiatives, rooted in legal protections such as the Fourth Amendment, Plyler v. Doe, and 1964 Civil Rights Act, aim to keep schools in compliance with federal and state law, minimize classroom disruption, and ensure consistent attendance, though their success depends on effective implementation, as this short read explains.

Recent Activity

Cover image for Leveraging ESSA Funding for Pre-K Family Engagement to Support Dual Language Learner
Policy Briefs
June 2026
By  Katherine Habben and Maki Park
Cover image for Native Language Assessments for K-12 English Learners
Fact Sheets
March 2026
By  Greg García, Gloria Choi and Lorena Mancilla
Cover image for Making Preschool Classroom Assessments Work for Dual Language Learners
Policy Briefs
December 2025
By  Katherine Habben, Victoria Kim and Lorena Mancilla
Cover image for All in for a Thriving Connecticut
Reports
September 2025
By  Margie McHugh, Julia Gelatt, Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, Katherine Habben, Jacob Hofstetter and Julie Sugarman
Cover image for A Data Profile of Young Dual Language Learners
Fact Sheets
August 2025
By  Katherine Habben and Victoria Kim
Cover image for Leveraging ESSA Funding for Pre-K Family Engagement to Support Dual Language Learner
Policy Briefs
June 2026
By  Katherine Habben and Maki Park
Cover image for Native Language Assessments for K-12 English Learners
Fact Sheets
March 2026
By  Greg García, Gloria Choi and Lorena Mancilla
Cover image for Making Preschool Classroom Assessments Work for Dual Language Learners
Policy Briefs
December 2025
By  Katherine Habben, Victoria Kim and Lorena Mancilla
Cover image for All in for a Thriving Connecticut
Reports
September 2025
By  Margie McHugh, Julia Gelatt, Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, Katherine Habben, Jacob Hofstetter and Julie Sugarman
Cover image for A Data Profile of Young Dual Language Learners
Fact Sheets
August 2025
By  Katherine Habben and Victoria Kim
Cover image for Understanding Obstacles to Foreign Qualification Recognition...
Policy Briefs
November 2024
By  Alexis Fintland, Margie McHugh and Maki Park
Cover image for Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families through IECMH Services
Policy Briefs
April 2024
By  Maki Park, Lillie Hinkle, Katherine Habben and Emma Heidorn
Students and Reading _JMH5036 (1) US Dept of Ed   Flickr

Although the number of U.S. residents who speak a language other than English has grown in recent decades, the share of those who are Limited English Proficient (LEP) has fallen: 40 percent in 2015, compared to 44 percent in 1980—even as immigration rose rapidly. This article examines growing linguistic diversity in the country and sketches a profile of the LEP population, including size, location, and socioeconomic characteristics.

HeadStart PascoCountySchools

The Head Start program—a model for early childhood education programs nationwide—has served more than 33 million children since its inception half a century ago, many from immigrant families. This article examines the role of Head Start in the education of Dual Language Learners, who now comprise one-third of enrollees, and discusses how recent policy changes may affect this population.

YoungImmigrantLineUp1 WBEZPeterHolderness Flickr

This article explores differences in application and renewal rates for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program among unauthorized immigrants from Latin America and Asia. Based on interviews with immigrant advocates and service providers, it appears participation in the deportation relief program may be different among origin groups based on varying perceptions of lack of trust in government and shame over legal status, as well as political barriers.

Trish Morita-Mullaney speaking on webinar
Video, Audio
March 5, 2026

This discussion focuses on the federal government's invitation to states to seek waivers of their obligations under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Experts offer an overview of current state waivers and their objectives, and what these developments might mean for English Learners (ELs) and their schools. 

 family with baby daughter at home
Video, Audio
April 5, 2024

Speakers discuss the importance of infant and early childhood mental health services, highlighting approaches that have successfully connected immigrant and refugee families with beneficial and culturally relevant services. Speakers also offer recommendations to expand accessibility and responsiveness of these services.

Image of doctor explaining a diagnosis to a teen female patient sitting on a hospital bed
Video, Audio
April 24, 2023

Marking the launch of a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics and MPI, this event examines unaccompanied children’s access to medical and mental health services post-release and offering recommendations for improvements.

Video
April 19, 2023

This webinar, marking the launch of a report, looks at career and technical education programs and federal, state, and school district policies that support English Learners' inclusion in these programs.

Kindergarten girl raises hand
Video, Audio
October 12, 2022

Language access policies and services are critical to promoting the equitable participation of Dual Language Learners and their families in early childhood programs, yet there are persisting participation gaps. This webinar outlines federal and state efforts to implement language access policies in the early childhood field, along with opportunities to improve language services.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs
June 2026

Active family engagement is essential to ensuring children benefit fully from early childhood education and care programs. Yet language barriers and cultural misunderstandings can sometimes keep educators and the families of Dual Language Learners (DLLs) from forming this important partnership. This policy brief explores strategies to better utilize federal funding to engage with DLL children and families.

Video, Audio, Webinars
March 5, 2026

This discussion focuses on the federal government's invitation to states to seek waivers of their obligations under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Experts offer an overview of current state waivers and their objectives, and what these developments might mean for English Learners (ELs) and their schools. 

Fact Sheets
March 2026

Native language assessments are an important tool for measuring what K–12 English Learner (EL) students know in core academic subjects, independent of their English proficiency level. This fact sheet provides an overview of which states offer assessments in students’ home languages, for which subjects, and how this landscape has changed in recent years.

Fact Sheets
February 2026

All high school students face important questions about what comes next after graduation. Those who are unauthorized immigrants face additional challenges—from heightened immigration enforcement to states walking back in-state tuition policies for these students. This fact sheet provides estimates of the number and characteristics of unauthorized immigrant children who are reaching the end of high school and graduating from K-12 schools across the United States each year.

Policy Briefs
December 2025

Although one-third of U.S. young children have a parent who speaks a language other than English, early childhood educators often lack the tools to effectively monitor the development of those not in monolingual, English-speaking households. This issue brief examines why many preschool classroom assessments are a poor fit for Dual Language Learners, and ways to make them more effective for diverse populations.

Reports
September 2025

Immigrants comprise 15 percent of Connecticut’s population, and nearly 30 percent of children in the state are part of immigrant families. Having driven all state population and workforce growth over the last 15 years, immigrants are an important part of Connecticut’s present and its future. This report examines state policies and systems that aim to support upward mobility for all families, highlighting ways in which they could better meet the needs of low-income immigrant families.

Fact Sheets
August 2025

Dual Language Learners (DLLs)—young children with at least one parent who speaks a language other than English—make up one-third of all children ages 0–5 in the United States. This fact sheet series and related resources provide essential data on the number and characteristics of DLL children and their families nationwide and in the 30 states with the most DLLs.

Short Reads
April 2025

U.S. schools are developing guidance to govern responses in the event of ICE operations. Safe zone initiatives, rooted in legal protections such as the Fourth Amendment, Plyler v. Doe, and 1964 Civil Rights Act, aim to keep schools in compliance with federal and state law, minimize classroom disruption, and ensure consistent attendance, though their success depends on effective implementation, as this short read explains.