Coalition's letter to City Council highlights need for ESL funding

On June 17, 2008, the D.C. Language Access Coalition sent a letter (Click here to read) to the City Council expressing concern about the shortage of ESL programs in the District. The letter calls attention to the high percentage of immigrants who report English-language proficiency and the long waiting lists for ESL programs across the country as evidence of immigrants' overwhelming desire to learn English. The letter encourages politicians to abandon rhetoric that casts immigrants as having little desire to learn English and take steps to expand ESL programs in D.C.