In North Carolina, thousands of immigrant adults attend each year English as a Second Language classes (ESL), a key part of the public adult education system in the United States.
These courses, offered free of charge in the community colleges —post-secondary institutions that provide technical, vocational, and academic training—are designed to help people whose native language is not English better integrate into the workforce and community.
To participate in ESL programs, you don’t need immigration documents or a Social Security number. You just need to register, take a placement test, and commit to attending. Many students work during the day and study at night. Most have Spanish as their first language.
However, this access could be affected. Although the mega-law known as the “Great Beautiful Law”, identified as HR 1, does not directly eliminate funding for english programs as a second language (ESL), it does impose cuts and new requirements on the system community colleges, including stricter conditions for sustaining federal funding.
These changes, which we detail below, have raised red flags among those who coordinate these services.
“I am worried, but like everything that is happening right now it is like living with uncertainty,” she told Enlace Latino NC Kenna Sommer, Director of Transitional Studies at the Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (AB Tech)“We don’t know exactly, and the rules of the game are changing daily.”
An important and diverse program
At AB Tech, the English as a Second Language (ELA) program currently has 385 active students, 70% of whom identify as Latino or Hispanic, according to data shared by Sommer.
The teaching staff includes 17 instructors with active contracts and approximately 35 people in total, including substitutes and collaborators.
“The program is designed to be accessible,” Sommer explained. “We don’t require documentation. We always ask for an insurance number, but it’s not a requirement. What we do ask for is an enrollment form and a placement test.”
Addition English courses In general, AB Tech has developed integrated classes that combine basic technical language with job training, such as the new electrical wiring course, which is taught in Spanish with functional English support.
“We have very diverse students,” he noted. “Some don’t have a high school diploma. Others were mechanical engineers in their home countries. They all live in a classroom with the same goal: to learn English and advance.”
Related: Where to take free English classes in North Carolina?
What is in game?
In North Carolina, free ESL programs offered in the community colleges They are funded with federal funds from the Department of Education.
These resources are delivered through Title II of the Adult Family Education and Literacy Act, which is part of a broader national program — known as WIOA— intended to support the training of unemployed people, those with low incomes or those with educational barriers.
“Everything we do—English classes, GED, programs for adults with disabilities—is funded with those funds,” Sommer explained. “Our funding comes from the Department of Education, and they’re currently under review.”
Sommer warns that recent changes in Washington could affect how funds are distributed. “Everything that’s happening in Washington, DC, is impacting our programs. We don’t know if the funds will be delivered in full, if they will come with new conditions, or if they will be delayed,” he noted.
Uncertainty grew after the Department of Education published a 2025 plan in July official statement, in which he announced that he will no longer allow federal funds to be used to finance educational programs for undocumented immigrants. The text states:
“Federally funded post-secondary education programs should benefit American citizens, not illegal immigrants.”
So far, institutions like AB Tech do not require students to present immigration documents or a Social Security number to enroll.
But this federal decision could change that.
The measure is based on a new interpretation of a law passed in 1996—known as PRWORA—that restricts access to certain public benefits for people without legal immigration status.
If that interpretation is extended to English programs, the community colleges may be forced to verify students’ immigration status in order to continue receiving federal funds.
Latino ESL Students
In fiscal year 2022, more than 41.000 people participated in adult education programs in North Carolina, and at least 10.736 of them identified as Spanish speakers, according to official figures from the Department of Education.
Enlace Latino NC submitted a formal request for public information to the North Carolina Community College System, the state entity that coordinates the 58 community colleges from the state to find out how many students are currently enrolled in ESL programs, but so far no response has been received.
New demands that don’t fit
HR 1 does not directly mention English programs, but it establishes new, more restrictive criteria for certain adult education courses to continue receiving federal funding or accessing subsidies.
Among other conditions, it requires that programs have at least a 70% completion rate, another 70% job placement rate within six months of graduation, and that the cost of the course not exceed the additional earnings the student is projected to earn three years after completion.
Sommer warns that these types of demands don’t fit the reality of her students or the program’s objectives. “Many of our students work full-time, have children, and their progress is gradual. It’s not reasonable to measure their progress with standards designed for other profiles,” she explained.
What is known so far?
At this time, it’s unclear whether or how the changes brought about by HR 1 will affect adult English programs.
Meanwhile, classes continue at AB Tech. Classrooms continue to welcome students as they have for more than 25 years. But uncertainty creeps into every academic schedule.
“I can’t advocate for changes in my role,” Sommer clarifies. “I can only say what’s happening. And what’s happening is that we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
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