This brief is one in a series aimed at providing K-12 education decision makers and advocates with an evidence base to ground discussions about how to best serve students during and following the novel coronavirus pandemic. It addresses one central question: Recognizing longstanding educational inequities, what research-backed practices can district administrators, school leaders, and classroom teachers use to support English Learner (EL) students' academic success and linguistic development in an instructional context transformed by COVID-19? In order to answer this question, the brief breaks down the issue into three points: (1) EL students are a rapidly growing and diverse population entitled to English language development instruction that will allow meaningful access to academic content; (2) Complex federal laws govern the education of EL students and continue to hold state and local education agencies accountable for their academic performance even during the pandemic; and (3) School leader and teacher training rarely provides sufficient support for how to meet the unique needs of EL students. Based on these points, the brief provides five strategies to consider and two strategies to avoid. [This brief was co-prepared by the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and the University of Texas at Austin, College of Education.]