JNCL-NCLIS Decries Massive Language Education Cuts in President’s Budget

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, DC, May 5, 2025 - On Friday, the White House Office of Management and Budget released a topline budget for  Fiscal Year 2026 that would slash funding for many language education programs. Specifically, the budget proposes to eliminate entirely:

• the $890 million English Language Acquisition program

• the $70 million Teacher Quality Partnership program (TQP), and  

• all international programs housed in the State Department’s Educational and Cultural Exchange office.

Additionally, the budget would consolidate into a single block grant 18 K-12 competitive and formula grant programs, which collectively total more than $6.53 billion, and reduce their collective total funding by 70%, leaving the block grant with only $2 billion. The programs that would be incorporated into this block grant likely include: 

• the $2.19 billion Title II-A  professional development formula grant program

• the $1.38 billion Title IV-A flexible block grant program

• the $195 million Indian Education program

• the $46 million Native Hawaiian Education program

• the $45 million Alaska Native Education program 

It is unclear under the budget how the Title VI Fulbright Hays/International Studies programs would fare as they are not specifically denoted in the bill.

The Department of Education would sustain a $12 billion reduction, which amounts to a roughly 22.6% cut. Overall, the State Department’s budget would be cut nearly in half, disrupting and potentially cutting critical language training programs.

“This shortsighted and incomplete budget proposal would wreak havoc on language education programs around the country, should it become law,” said Amanda Seewald, Executive Director of the Joint National Committee for Languages–National Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS). “Not only does this budget take aim at more than 5.3 million English Learners in this country by eliminating all funding that supports their success, it also falsely suggests that bilingualism impedes English acquisition. In fact, decades of research and ongoing program outcomes across the nation confirm that developing literacy in a student’s first language while simultaneously building English literacy significantly strengthens English language proficiency and long-term academic achievement.” Seewald added, “Moreover, cutting funding for Native American language programs directly undermines the Native American Languages Act and violates the federal responsibility to protect the linguistic rights and revitalization efforts of Native communities.” 

House and Senate Appropriators will begin working on their versions of FY26 Appropriations legislation, informed by the President’s Budget, in the coming weeks. “JNCL-NCLIS intends to keep the pressure on Congress to fully fund our key language education priorities, and not to embrace the President’s unduly austere and misguided budgetary approach,” said Seewald. “Our nation needs more citizens with language skills in order to advance our defense, intelligence and diplomatic goals as well as to grow our economy and international trade. Reducing or eliminating federal language education support obstructs national longstanding efforts to achieve those goals.”

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About JNCL-NCLIS: Established in 1972, the Joint National Committee for Languages (JNCL) and the National Council for Languages and International Studies (NCLIS) unites a national network of leading organizations and businesses comprised of over 300,000 language professionals to advocate for equitable language learning opportunities. Our mission is to ensure that Americans have the opportunity to learn English and at least one other language.

Contact: info@languagepolicy.org