Amid Trump cuts, Mass. leaders pour $20M into English language learning for workers

Driving the news: Eastern Bank board chair Bob Rivers announced the funding for its "career-focused English proficiency initiative," which will roll out over three years.

• Rivers' announcement comes as state leaders celebrate the $10 million for English language training included in a recent spending package.
• The state also plans to offer $2.7 million in workforce grant funding so employers and nonprofits can help workers access English language training and other services.

The big picture: Massachusetts' unemployment rate increased to 4.8% in May, with nearly 190,000 jobless workers, and many more are underemployed.

• The biggest barrier for foreign-born job seekers is English proficiency, officials and business leaders said Tuesday.
• Eliminating that barrier helps workers fill jobs in health care, finance, manufacturing and other industries.

By the numbers: One in 10 workers in Massachusetts speaks limited English, state Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler said.

• State adult education and English language programs serve around 30,000 people.
• Tutwiler estimates the $10 million in state funding will help up to 5,000 more English language learners. That's in addition to the prospective beneficiaries of the Eastern Bank Foundation initiative.

What they're saying: "You are helping create the opportunity to change lives," Tutwiler said of those running English language programs.

Context: The announcements come months after the Trump administration cut federal funding to nonprofits that teach adults English.

• Massachusetts and other states are now suing the Trump administration over frozen K-12 funding, including an estimated $20.5 million for English language learning in the state's K-12 schools.
• Schools statewide are reviewing their budgets and making adjustments in case the funding doesn't come before September, but Tutwiler said the state will keep fighting for the appropriated funds in court.

What's next: The Eastern Bank Foundation plans to open applications and launch an English language learning pilot program later this year, says Eva Milona, a longtime immigrant advocate who served in the Biden administration.

• She will oversee the program as a foundation fellow.