Senate Panel Kills Effort to Track English Learner Funding

A push to examine how Virginia funds English language learners (ELLs) in public schools was shut down Monday, as the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee rejected a proposal for data collection on the issue.

The effort stemmed from a 2023 report by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), which found that Virginia has been underfunding schools under the Standards of Quality (SOQ) — the state’s funding formula for public education. Lawmakers had requested the report to identify gaps in school funding and determine whether ELL students were receiving adequate resources.

The funding gap is stark. A 2022 study from EdTrust, an education advocacy group, showed that Virginia school districts serving the highest number of ELL students receive 48% less revenue per student than districts with fewer ELL students, VPM first reported.

“I think it’s important for us, as a commonwealth, to provide funding for the requirements that we set forth, so that local appropriations are not needed to close that gap,” Del. Atoosa Reaser, D-Loudoun, the legislation’s sponsor, said Monday.

“That’s money that belongs to the taxpayer; and the state should be, in my opinion, funding its fair share, which the House budget works toward.”

Reaser’s House Bill 2032 would have directed the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to collect data on expenditures and proficiency levels for ELL students. The measure also called for the identification of additional support strategies and a status report to lawmakers later this year. However, the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget found no expected fiscal impact, as data on proficiency is already collected.

Reaser’s proposal cleared the House on Jan. 28, but not without changes. Lawmakers stripped out a provision that would have allocated additional state funding for ELL students, instead folding that language into HB 1954, sponsored by House Education Committee Chair Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke. That bill also failed but could resurface during budget negotiations in the coming days.

Last year, the legislature created the Joint Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education to review JLARC’s recommendations with the goal of replacing the outdated formula. Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, the committee chair, on Monday urged the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee to shelve the English learner funding bill, arguing that the panel’s work isn’t finished.

“It’s important we do this in a manner that we are looking at all of the JLARC recommendations,” Locke said, adding that some of the commission’s proposals have already been addressed in the state budget.

The bill also coincides with recent changes from the Virginia Board of Education, which now require more English learner test scores to be included in school accountability calculations — a shift that could have significant consequences for schools that serve large ELL populations.

However, some Democrats are pushing to delay the rollout of the new accountability system, citing concerns about fairness and accuracy in measuring student performance. For now, the debate over English learner funding remains tied to the larger fight over how Virginia funds its schools.

by Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury