MITESOL Advocacy Update: July 2025
Advocates,
We find ourselves in unsettling times and MUST speak up and take action for change. Education supports that have been in place for decades are being dismantled and immigrants are under attack. We must stay informed and remain vigilant!
Stay informed and communicate with your policymakers:
- Use the MITESOL Advocacy Packet to find your state and federal representatives' contact information, call scripts, and other resources
- Join the MITESOL Advocacy Facebook group for frequent updates and resources!
- Got 5 minutes? Go to the TESOL Advocacy Action Center and easily advocate for multiple federal campaigns!
(Be sure to add your educational context and how it affects you/educators/students/community to the prepared message.)
You can also call your federal senators' and representative's offices using the call directory in the MITESOL Advocacy Packet.
Current Media:
- Advocating for the Release of Education Funding 2025 Media Roundup / Stacy Brown (http://tinyurl.com/2025MediaTracker) - July 14
- Counting the Cost: Education Funding and English Learners / Jeff Hutcheson - July 8
- Supreme Court gives green light to Education Department layoffs / Chalkbeat - July 14
- 24 states sue Trump admin to unfreeze more than $6 billion in education grants / NPR - July 15
SOLIDARITY WITH IMMIGRANTS in our Schools and Communities
Please use these resources to become informed and share with other educators so we are equipped to assist students and community members:
- Share these ACLU Know Your Rights videos in Spanish, Urdu, Arabic, Haitian Creole, Russian, & Mandarin to empower students and their families on how to deal with ICE
- School Self-Assessment Checklist for Legal Rights of Immigrant Students / Michigan Immigrant Rights Center
- Immigration Rights Schools Need to Know / Michigan Department of Education
- Preparation & Rapid Response Resources for Immigrants & Community Allies / Welcoming America
- Sanctuary School Toolkit: A Guide for Parents, Students, & Stakeholders in Local School Districts / GR Rapid Response to ICE
- School Crisis Playbook: Navigating Deportation Policies with Practical Tools and Preparedness / Fugees Family
Fugees Family Webinars, Trainings and Immigration Resources to Equip Schools and Families for Uncertainty
- TESOL's Community and Colleague Resources (scroll halfway down the page)
STATE ADVOCACY
How much federal education aid could Michigan lose?
The Trump administration is following through on threats to cut federal money for public education, and states could lose significant funding.
This tool from the Education Law Center provides projected revenue losses in each state by federal funding source. The tool also shows the number of entry-level teaching positions that would be lost if state education resources must fill the gap left by funding cuts.
As the 103rd Michigan legislature advances policy, stay up-to-date on state education news using these resources:
- Bridge Michigan Talent & Education
- Chalkbeat Detroit
- Michigan Advance Education and
- Michigan Department of Education English Learners (ELs) site
FEDERAL ADVOCACY
- TESOL Advocacy Action Days happened June 16-18 in Washington DC, and MITESOL reps were there for it! Stay tuned for our August newsletter to find out what issues were communicated to our Michigan members of Congress.
- TESOL Advocacy HUB - Visit TESOL's page filled with resources to support learners, schools and communities under the current U.S. administration.
Please contact me with any information or questions you’d like to share!
Sharon Umlor
MITESOL Advocacy Coordinator
TESOL Advocacy Action Center
You do not need to be a TESOL member to use the TESOL Advocacy Action Center site!… Join in and support English learners and teachers today! 
The Action Center is also available via mobile app: Download the Voter Voice app & search for “TESOL International Association” in the organization field.
