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Findings show that resources, professional networks, and state-level monitoring guidance interact with leaders’ understandings, shaping equitable policy implementation. 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is the purpose of this study regarding English learners policy?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The study examines how SEA and LEA leaders interpret and use educational policy to guide services for multilingual students classified as English learners, focusing on external factors that enable or constrain equity.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How was the research conducted?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 SEA and LEA leaders across three states to understand how leaders leverage policy to guide EL services.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What external factors shape equity for English learners in implementation?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Three external factors—resources to serve EL students, networks to share EL expertise, and concrete state policy monitoring and guidance—interact with leaders’ understanding and approaches to 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Expand Equity for English Learners  \nCaroline Bartlett 1   \n,  \nRebecca Callahan2   \n,  \nand Madeline Mavrogordato 1   \nEducational Administration Quarterly 2024, Vol. 60(2) 151–190 © The Author(s) 2024  \nArticle reuse guidelines:  \n[sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)DOI: 10.1177/0013161X241230296 [journals.sagepub.com/home/eaq](journals.sagepub.com/home/eaq)  \nAbstract  \nPurpose: We examine the ways state education agency (SEA) and local education agency (LEA) leaders interpret and use educational policy to guide the provision of services for multilingual students classified as English learners (ELs) in their contexts. Our inquiry focuses on the external factors leaders describe that either enable or constrain their ability to interpret and implement policies designed to expand equity for EL students. Research Method: We conduct semi-structured interviews with 17 SEA and LEA leaders across three states. We use an interview-based approach to understand how educational leaders leverage policy to guide EL services in their  \n1 Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA 2University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA  \nCorresponding Author:  \nCaroline Bartlett, Michigan State University, 620 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA. Email: bartl [160@msu.edu](160@msu.edu)  \nstates and districts. Findings: Three external factors (resources to serve EL students, networks to share EL expertise, and concrete policy monitoring and guidance from the state) interact with leaders’ individual understandings of and approaches to policy implementation to shape the ultimate degree to which equity is enabled or constrained for EL students in their contexts. Implications: Educational policy intends to provide SEA and LEA leaders with guidance to expand equity for ELs. However, our study suggests that the degree to which these policies expand equity for ELs in practice depends not only on the leader’s understanding of the policy, but also their access to resources, human capital, and professional networks. SEA and LEA leaders that take a deep, transformative approach to implementation may partner to assess how SEAs can create external conditions that help to expand equity for ELs.  \nKeywords  \nEnglish learners, educational leadership, social justice leadership, policy implementation, policy interpretation  \nIntroduction  \nMultilingual students classified as English learners (ML-ELs)1 comprise a rapidly growing share of the US school-age population (Office of English Language Acquisition [OELA], 2020) and increasingly enroll in schools, districts, and states that have not traditionally served ML-ELs (Brezicha & Hopkins, 2016; Lee & Hawkins, 2015) . For the past 50-plus years, the federal government has shaped ML-ELs’ education (Bilingual Education Act [BEA], 1968), identifying ML-ELs as a protected class under the 14th Amendment (Lau v. Nichols, 1974) entitled to targeted support (Castañedav. Pickard, 1981) while they learn English alongside the academic content of school. However, despite federal guidance and legal precedent for ML-EL education, state and district leaders may encounter challenges in effectively translating policy into practice. As with all federally-initiated policies (i.e., policies addressing students with disabilities, civil rights issues, or students experiencing homelessness), their interpretation and implementation will depend in part on the degree to which state and local policies support the values imbued in federal legislation—and the will and capacity of state and local institutional actors. Considering how these institutional actors interpret and implement federal policy across contexts has the potential to improve understanding of how policy implementation can enhance or constrain equity for any number offederally protected groups","cbCaibbhvcBxEjJA","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaibbhvcBxEjJA","pdf",846100,"English","# Abstract\n## Purpose\n## Research Method\n## Findings\n## Implications\n# Introduction\n## Background on multilingual learners and policy\n## Challenges in translating policy to practice\n## Study focus and research questions","[{\"question\":\"What is the purpose of this study regarding English learners policy?\",\"answer\":\"The study examines how SEA and LEA leaders interpret and use educational policy to guide services for multilingual students classified as English learners, focusing on external factors that enable or constrain equity.\"},{\"question\":\"How was the research conducted?\",\"answer\":\"The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 SEA and LEA leaders across three states to understand how leaders leverage policy to guide EL services.\"},{\"question\":\"What external factors shape equity for English learners in implementation?\",\"answer\":\"Three external factors—resources to serve EL students, networks to share EL expertise, and concrete state policy monitoring and guidance—interact with leaders’ understanding and approaches to implementation.\"}]","Beyond a Transformative Approach and Deep Understanding - External Factors and Mid-Level Leaders’ Policy Implementation to Expand Equity for English Learners | PDF",1792094282,101]