New York Times | New York City’s public education system is failing to properly serve children who are learning English as a new language, according to a report from the city comptroller that illuminates the plight of one of the most vulnerable groups of students.

Under state law, children who speak or understand little or no English are entitled to equal access to a free education.

But a report released this week by the city comptroller, Brad Lander, found that New York’s public school system, the largest in the United States, has denied legally mandated services and instruction to thousands of these children, even as their enrollment soared by nearly 17 percent during the past three years as large numbers of migrants entered the city.

Rita Rodriguez-Engberg, the director of the Immigrant Students’ Rights project at Advocates for Children of New York, said in a statement that many parents were not aware of their children’s rights or English language learner status, and that the audit reflected many of the same “challenges we also hear from the families we serve.”