Yolo County, like California as a whole, boasts a linguistically diverse student population. As of 2020, 17 percent of Yolo County students were designated as English Learners. Students designated as English Learners are a diverse population in themselves, with a wide range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds and wealth of resources that they bring with them to school.

 

Multilingual students, especially those designated as English Learners, have persistently been excluded from the range of learning opportunities available to their monolingual English-speaking peers due to restrictive language policies and other systemic barriers.

 

Recently, however, California has enacted policies and initiatives that affirm multilingualism and call for changes to education that will provide students designated as English Learners with equitable educational opportunities and teaching that builds on their strengths and meets their needs. YCOE is committed to supporting these initiatives and providing professional learning to guide teachers and leaders in our county as they work to ensure that their multilingual students can engage deeply in learning and pursue their educational and professional goals.