A nation of immigrants
June 4, 2002
Each year, many new immigrant children enroll in Americaís schools. The changing demographics have created an ongoing need to find ways to teach children who have limited English proficiency (LEP)
and sometimes little formal education.
The following states have the highest percentage of students with limited English proficiency (LEP).
California 1,480,527 24.9%
New Mexico 76,661 23.6%
Alaska 19,721 14.8%
Arizona 125,311 14.7%
Texas 554,949 13.9%
Nevada 40,469 12.4%
Florida 235,181 9.9%
Utah 41.306 8.6%
Colorado 60,031 8.5%
New York 228,730 8.0%
Oregon 43,845 8.0%
Source: NEA Today (May 2002)