The number of limited English proficient (LEP) students enrolled in K-12 education increased by 60.8% from the 1994-1995 school year to the 2004-2005 school year; total student enrollment increased by 2.6% over the same time period. Given this tremendous growth in the LEP student population and the likelihood that the 110 th Congress will consider legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA; P.L. 107-110 ), this report examines the formula used to provide grants to states under the English Language Acquisition program, authorized by Title III of the ESEA. This program provides grants to states to help ensure that LEP and recent immigrant students attain proficiency in English. Much of the debate surrounding the reauthorization of this program has focused on the data used to determine how many LEP and immigrant students are in each state, as these data are the basis upon which grants are determined. This is followed by a detailed analysis of the American Community Survey (ACS) data currently used by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to calculate these grants, as well as state-reported data that could potentially be used to calculate these grants. The third section of the report compares student counts based on ACS data and state data and examines differences in estimated FY2007 state grants if state data were used as the basis for determining the awards. The report concludes with an examination of some of the drawbacks of using either the ACS or state-reported data for determining state grants and other possible alternative strategies for calculating state grants. In practice, ED has been using the ACS data to make state allocations since FY2005. For example, FY2007 grants are based on the 2005 ACS data. State-Reported Immigrant Student Counts

Data sources for immigrant student counts are more limited than those available for LEP students. In addition or alternatively, developing a formula based on both the ACS data and the state-reported data could be considered, possibly averaging the student counts from each.
The number of limited English proficient (LEP) students enrolled in K-12 education increased by 60.8% from the 1994-1995 school year to the 2004-2005 school year, while total student enrollment increased by 2.6% over the same time period. Given this tremendous growth in the LEP student population and the likelihood that Congress will consider legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA; P.L. 107-110), during the 110th Congress, this report examines the formula used to provide grants to states under the English Language Acquisition program, authorized by Title III of the ESEA. This program provides grants to states to help ensure that LEP and recent immigrant students attain proficiency in English. Much of the debate surrounding the reauthorization of this program has focused on the data used to determine how many LEP and immigrant students are in each state, as these data are the basis upon which grants are determined.
This report examines the American Community Survey (ACS) data that the U.S. Department of Education has used to calculate state grants since FY2005. It also analyzes state-reported data that could potentially be used to calculate these grants. Differences in LEP and immigrant student counts based on the different data sources are compared, revealing substantial differences in student counts for some states depending on the data source used. FY2007 grants are calculated using both the ACS and state-reported data to examine the potential differences in state grant amounts depending on the data source used. The differences in student counts that exist between the ACS and state-reported data are reflected in the differences in estimated state grant amounts, as some states would receive substantially more or less funding if state-reported data were used to calculate grants rather than the ACS data. Consideration is also given to the drawbacks of using either the ACS or state-reported data and possible alternative strategies for determining state grant awards (e.g., averaging the student counts from the ACS and state-reported data) are discussed.
This report will be updated as warranted by legislative action.