Bilingual Education:

Information on Limited English Proficient Students

HRD-87-85BR: Published: Apr 30, 1987. Publicly Released: May 14, 1987.

Additional Materials:

Contact:

Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov

In response to a congressional request, GAO provided information on limited-English-proficient (LEP) students who obtain educational services through federal funds to help them learn English well enough to participate in all-English classes.

GAO found that: (1) the Department of Education estimates that there are 1.2 to 1.7 million LEP children in the United States; (2) LEP population estimates are sensitive to such indicators as whether a non-English language is the first or second household language and whether a child speaks a non-English language at home; (3) states and the District of Columbia estimate that there are about 1.5 million LEP students in the United States; (4) this total understates the LEP population because states depend on school districts' self-reports on the number of LEP students; (5) states do not systematically or routinely collect data concerning the concentration of LEP students by language minorities in school districts; (6) of the states that aggregate data by school and/or by grade, 78 percent of their 909,427 LEP students are in high-concentration areas by language, while 22 percent are in low-concentration areas; and (7) of the states that aggregate data by school district, 72 percent of their 165,920 LEP students are in high-concentration areas, while 28 percent are in low-concentration areas. GAO also found that: (1) states and the District report that LEP students receive language aid through federal, state, and local funds; (2) there are no adequate national data on the extent to which schools are using native languages in transitional bilingual education programs; (3) the minimum number of students that schools need to justify a bilingual education program differs from state to state; and (4) LEP students spend 2 to 4 years in both transitional and alternative programs.

Jan 11, 2021

Dec 10, 2020

Nov 19, 2020

Oct 15, 2020

Oct 14, 2020

Sep 29, 2020

Aug 27, 2020

Jul 24, 2020

Jul 9, 2020

Jun 5, 2020

Looking for more? Browse all our products here