The American Civil Liberties Union is claiming that more than 20 thousand California school children are not getting the support they need to learn English.

The group is demanding that the state act to provide instruction to English Language Learners within 30 days, or it says it will sue.

ACLU Attorney Jessica Price says the Bay Area has 13 percent of the state's English learners. While the Oakland and San Francisco school districts reported few students falling through the cracks, Price says even one is too many.

"We're asking the state to direct the districts to come up with a plan, notify the districts that this is illegal, and set some kind of timeline for addressing the issue," said Price. "I hope that that will reduce the number of districts that are refusing to provide services substantially."

The California Department of Education dismissed the ACLU's claims and said more than 98 percent of the state's 1.4 million English learners are receiving instruction and support as the law requires.