In fall 2016, 9.6% of the nation's public school students—4.9 million—were identified as English language learners, according to the U.S. Department of Education's "The Condition of Education 2019."
The percentage ranged a high of 20.2% in California to a low of 0.9% in West Virginia.
Students who are identified as English language learners are eligible to participate in language assistance programs to help them attain English proficiency. ELL students are more likely to be from urban areas—they make up 14% of the student body in city school systems, compared with 9.3% in suburban districts, 6.5% in town districts and 3.8% in rural districts.
Here are the states that had the lowest percentage of ELL students in 2016.
