The Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA) promises equal educational opportunity to the over 4.5 million English language learners (ELLs) attending public schools. It requires states to “remove barriers to ELLs’ equal participation in educational programs.” If a state violates this command, and thus denies an ELL equal educational opportunity, the ELL can “institute a civil action in an appropriate district court … for such relief, as may be appropriate.”

Equal educational opportunity, however, has proven elusive for ELLs—the EEOA’s promise to them has not been realized. A significant achievement gap exists between ELLs and other students. ELLs consistently score below their peers on academic achievement tests, and high school dropout rates are higher for ELLs than other students in all 38 states that track ELL graduation rates.