JNCL-NCLIS

06/25/2026

📣 : The House Appropriations Committee has approved $20 million in funding for FY27. This investment is a major commitment to expanding critical language study to military-connected schools and students across the country.

This funding decision is powered by sustained advocacy, both on and off Capitol Hill. Throughout the year, JNCL advocates have used their voices to highlight the critical importance of investing in world language education. This momentum allows us to continue fighting for programs like WLARA, which is the only federally funded program dedicated to supporting K–12 world language education.

Since 2021, Congress has invested more than $78.8 million in WLARA grants to military-connected schools to establish and expand innovative world language programs. To date, the grants have supported 33 public school districts across 19 states in languages including ASL, French, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish.

📢 Executive Director Amanda Seewald stated, “We applaud the House Appropriations Committee for expanding WLARA and recognizing that it is a proven model for what language education supported by federal funding must do to empower our nation's students with the globally ready skills of biliteracy and bilingualism.”

While the FY27 Defense Appropriations Act must still be approved by the full House and Senate, today's action marks a major step toward expanding access to world language education for military-connected students across the country. Read more about this : https://bit.ly/4evpHF9.

06/24/2026

🚨 Urgent Action Needed 🚨

In collaboration with our colleagues at the Alliance for International Exchange, we are urging advocates to take action against a proposal in Congress that would eliminate funding for the Fulbright Program.

For nearly 80 years, Fulbright has expanded language learning, international education, and global exchange opportunities for students, educators, and communities across the United States.

📢 Tell your Representative to oppose this amendment and protect Fulbright funding.

🚨 TAKE ACTION NOW🚨
https://www.votervoice.net/EXCHANGE/campaigns/138225/respond

Please share with your network and help amplify this message.

06/23/2026

The future of language education depends on the voices we empower today.
The Student Advocacy Academy is building that future.

Be a part of it. Sign up to receive registration information
👉 Learn more:https://bit.ly/4eKB2lr

06/19/2026

Students don’t just learn what advocacy is—they practice it.
That’s what makes the Student Advocacy Academy different.

👉 Learn more:https://bit.ly/4eKB2lr

06/16/2026

Communication matters.
The Student Advocacy Academy helps students learn how to share their message clearly, confidently, and effectively.

👉 Learn more:https://bit.ly/4eKB2lr

06/12/2026

Advocacy is a skill.
The Student Advocacy Academy helps students build it—step by step.
👉 Learn more:https://bit.ly/4eKB2lr

06/11/2026

🚨The House Appropriations Committee narrowly passed the FY27 Labor-HHS-Education spending bill.
❌ ELIMINATES Title II-A: $2.19 billion for educator professional development
❌ ELIMINATES Title III: $890 million for English Language Acquisition
❌ ELIMINATES Title VI of HEA: $81 million for language programming in higher education
❌ ELIMINATES Teacher Quality Partnership Program

📉CUTS Title I: $2.3 billion cut to K-12 education programming

The bill passed on a party-line vote after lawmakers proposed amendments and clashed over the federal government's role in education. Representative Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16) introduced an amendment to restore Title III funding, highlighting that the schools in her district couldn’t “pick up the tab” if Title III was overhauled. In her speech, Escobar warned that “We can’t have it both ways. We can’t say we expect English to be the official language of this country, and we are going to cut all of the funding that gets us there.”

Indigenous language programs did receive a positive outcome in this bill, however. Appropriations for Indian education and Native American Learning Resource Centers received funding boosts, while Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian programs received level funding, defying calls from the President’s ‘skinny budget,’ that sought to zero-out these programs.

For full details, read our post here:

Early Wednesday morning, the House Appropriations Committee approved, on a party-line vote, the House’s version of the FY27 Labor HHS Education spending bill, which proposes to cut 10% of the Department of Education’s funding and eliminate key language education programs. Specifically, the bill ...

06/09/2026

What do students gain from the Student Advocacy Academy?
✔ A personal advocacy story
✔ Confidence to speak up
✔ Real communication skills
✔ A purposeful pathway to catalyze change

👉 Learn more:https://bit.ly/4eKB2lr

06/05/2026

It’s not just about learning what advocacy is....
It’s about becoming someone who’s ready to speak up and make a difference.

How will your words and actions make a difference?
👉 Learn more:https://bit.ly/4eKB2lr

06/02/2026

Before: learning a language and seeing what it means to me

After: advocating for language learning to be a part of every student’s education

That’s the shift the JNCL-NCLIS Student Advocacy Academy creates.
👉 Learn more:https://bit.ly/4eKB2lr