House Democrats challenged the U.S. Department of Education’s plan to dissolve the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), arguing that relocating programs for English learners could disrupt services for more than 5 million students. In a May 12 letter to Secretary Linda McMahon, lawmakers urged the department to halt the plan. The letter cited OELA’s oversight role for federal programs including Title III funding, which provides supplemental support for English learners, and professional development grants for educators. Democrats said day-to-day management would be transferred to other federal offices, and they raised concerns about whether states and schools can meet legal obligations without a dedicated office. The department’s rationale, as previously stated, is tied to a broader effort to “return education to the states,” and it argued that English learners should not be treated as siloed. Still, advocates and former OELA directors have argued that tailored expertise and continuity could be lost. For higher education partners working on teacher training and multilingual education, the dispute signals a shifting federal governance structure that can change program design and educator support pipelines.