English learners excluded from policy talks despite huge stakes

A student trustee in California says English learner students are almost never present when education policies are shaped—despite the state’s more than 1 million English learner students facing decisions on everything from AI to discipline. She points to gradu

When she sat through education meetings as a high school junior and student board member, one absence kept creeping back into her mind—again and again.

In room after room, Keerthi Eraniyan said she rarely saw English learner students. Not at student representation panels. Not at public forums or student program presentations. Not even at district English Learner Advisory Committee meetings.

That realization didn’t feel abstract. It felt personal, because the people most affected by the policy decisions under discussion—students whose futures are shaped by attendance rules, discipline practices, mental health supports, and academic opportunities—weren’t there to speak for themselves.

California is home to the largest English learner population in the nation, with more than 1 million English learner students in public schools, about 17% of the state’s K–12 enrollment. Eraniyan argues that when decisions are being made for that group, the group shouldn’t be sidelined.

She asked multilingual learner friends and classmates why they weren’t showing up. Their answers landed hard.

Some said they felt intimidated speaking publicly in English—at a time when English wasn’t fully mastered yet. Others worried their accents would make them sound “not smart enough” to represent other students. Eraniyan describes these as among the smartest and most perceptive students she knew—students who cared deeply about their education and had strong opinions on issues widely discussed in education spaces. but who still quietly decided those spaces weren’t meant for them.

The effect, she says, is becoming more visible as districts push for “student voice” and student-centered decision-making.

Her argument turns on how schools define leadership. In practice. she says. leadership often gets recognized through fluent. confident participation in English—or through activities that require English fluency. The students most comfortable navigating those environments are often already positioned to speak at meetings or serve on advisory councils. while many multilingual students are still trying to translate the room.

The consequences aren’t just about representation in theory. They show up in outcomes.

Eraniyan points to California Department of Education data showing that English learner students graduated at a rate of 77.9% in 2024. below statewide averages. She also cites that only 17.2% were considered prepared for college or careers after graduation. In her telling. those gaps are often discussed through data. funding. and accountability metrics—yet the students most affected by educational inequities are far less likely to be included in the conversations shaping the policies and supports meant to help them.

The state is now moving in that direction at the policy level, but Eraniyan says the process still misses the people it’s meant to serve.

Right now. the California Department of Education is developing a statewide implementation plan for the English Learner Roadmap Policy. intended to improve outcomes for English learner students across the state. An advisory committee is helping shape that plan, and it includes district leaders, nonprofit organizations, and parents. What it doesn’t include, Eraniyan says, is English learner students themselves.

She emphasizes she doesn’t think the exclusion was intentional. Still, she describes it as part of a broader pattern in how schools talk about English learners—more often speaking about them than listening directly to them.

At the same time, Eraniyan acknowledges that California has made progress. She points to the English Learner Roadmap prioritizing engagement with multilingual families. and to schools across California expanding dual-language immersion programs at all levels of schooling. She also notes that the number of students—especially English learners—earning the State Seal of Biliteracy has grown significantly in recent years. helped by the passing of the Biliteracy Advancement Act (AB 370). Organizations like Multilingual Educators Transforming Achievement, she adds, focus on multilingual wellness and equity in specific California regions.

For her, the lesson is straightforward: progress can’t fully take hold without student representation.

That belief is now taking shape in her own district. Eraniyan says her school district approved her proposal for the creation of an English Learner Student Advisory Committee. The committee will begin meeting during the 2026–27 school year. Its purpose. she says. is to give multilingual students an inclusive space with other students like them to share their experiences and perspectives with district leadership.

She also recalls what students told her while she was discussing the idea. Several told her it was the first time they felt someone genuinely wanted to hear their opinions about school policies and programs.

The story she’s telling is less about symbolism than access—who gets to translate their lived experience into the policy decisions that affect them.

Eraniyan argues that districts should create formal. more accessible opportunities for English learner students to shape school policies and programs and to discuss educational concerns with each other. She calls for leadership recruitment materials to be translated. and she says board and committee meetings should include interpretation and language support.

In her view, California has spent years trying to improve outcomes for English learners, and listening to them more directly should be a starting point.

Eraniyan is a student at California High School in San Ramon. a student trustee for the Contra Costa County Board of Education. and a chair of student representation at the Association of California County Boards of Education. She recently spearheaded an English Learner Student Advisory Committee in her own district and is currently advocating for districts statewide to do the same.

English learners student voice English Learner Roadmap Policy California Department of Education bilingual education dual-language immersion State Seal of Biliteracy AB 370 student advisory committee Contra Costa County Board of Education