As noted in the New York Times yesterday, the Center for an Urban Future has just issued a report that found the demand for ESOL classes across the state of New York rapidly accelerating in recent years, while the availability of classes has decreased. The report says that state funding for ESOL programs in New York has dropped every year since 1995.

The report frames this issue in economic terms. The authors say that “increasing English instruction capacity would almost certainly yield benefits for the state economy,” and that the failure of the state to meet the demand for ESOL services “threatens the state’s ability to tap the skills of immigrant entrepreneurs and workers to strengthen local economies.”