Creating a Bilingual Education Support Fund (H 7389, S 2555)

We supported legislation which would allocate funding to establish a bilingual education support fund within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to encourage the implementation of dual language programs. This legislation also seeks to support and expand teaching certifications for bilingual dual language and world language teachers in Rhode Island. The amount of multi-lingual learners (MLLs) in Rhode Island is growing exponentially.

MLLs often face systemic barriers outside of the classroom. MLL students are more likely to be lower-income, attend high-poverty schools, and lack access to services that improve English proficiency.6 Students facing these complicated issues should not have to additionally worry about understanding course materials in a language they are still learning. Notably, Rhode Island faces a shortage of certified bilingual and world language teachers. Encouraging more streamlined certifications will help address this gap by removing barriers for teaching students and educators, who have been historically underrepresented in education because of systemic or economic barriers.