The number of ELL students in our schools continues to grow. Data based on The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition and Language Instruction Educational Programs (NCELA) 2000 Census shows us:

• About 5.1 million LEP students were enrolled in PK-12 in the 2005 – 2006 school year.
• The number of LEP students enrolled in U.S. public schools increased by 57% between 1995/1996 and 2005/2006.
• 64% of all ELL students were born in the U.S.
• About 40% of foreign-born children were LEP.
• 66% of all LEP children are Latino.
• 80% of all LEP students reported Spanish as their native language.
• With nearly 1.6 million LEP students in 2003-2004, California had the largest number in the country. The states with the next largest LEP student populations were Texas (660,707), Florida (282,060), New York (191,992), and Illinois (161,700).