Each year, the United States Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students issues data from its Survey of the States. These data, published by The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, demonstrate the acceleration of the number of Limited English Proficient (LEP) students not only in those states that have a history of linguistic and cultural diversity, but also in a large group of additional states that have experienced notable increases in immigration over the past decade.
Number of LEP Students, 2001-2002
See graphic at right.
LEP Population Growth, 1992-2002
See graphic at right.
Nationwide LEP Enrollment & Total K-12 Enrollment, 1991-2002
Year |
Total K-12 Enrollment |
Growth Since 1991 |
LEP Enrollment |
Growth Since 1991 |
1991–92 |
43,134,517 |
– |
2,430,712 |
– |
92–93 |
44,444,939 |
3% |
2,735,952 |
13% |
93–94 |
45,443,389 |
5% |
3,037,922 |
25% |
94–95 |
47,745,835 |
11% |
3,184,696 |
31% |
95–96 |
47,582,665 |
10% |
3,228,799 |
33% |
96–97 |
46,714,980 |
8% |
3,452,073 |
42% |
97–98 |
46,023,969 |
7% |
3,470,268 |
43% |
98–99 |
46,153,266 |
7% |
3,540,673 |
46% |
99–00 |
47,356,089 |
10% |
4,416,580 |
82% |
00–01 |
47,665,483 |
11% |
4,584,946 |
89% |
01–02 |
48,296,777 |
12% |
4,747,763 |
95% |
Most Commonly Spoken Languages Nationwide
English Spanish Vietnamese Hmong Haitian Creole Korean Arabic Chinese, Cantonese Russian Tagalog |
Chinese, unspecified Navajo Khmer Portuguese Urdu Chinese, Mandarin Serbo-Croatian Lao Japanese |
Source: The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition website, www.ncela.gwu.edu. The NCELA website provides the information presented above along with a wealth of other national and state data about students’ English language acquisition patterns, educational programs for English language learners. The national information represented here can be found on a one-page poster at www.ncela.gwu.edu/states/stateposter.pdf. For specific information about English language learners in your state, don’t miss State Elementary & Secondary LEP Enrollment Growth and Top Languages, 2000—2001, available at www.ncela.gwu.edu/states/reports/statedata/2001/index.html.