A significant body of research has shown that teacher effectiveness influences student outcomes and that teacher efficacy is one of the most salient factors influencing student achievement. However, teacher preparation and professional learning often minimally addresses the cultural considerations and research-based strategies for working with multilingual learners (MLs). This leads to a challenging situation for both MLs, who are entitled to language instructional supports, and for their teachers, who are often not given adequate pre-service preparation or in-service training to implement effective strategies to meet MLs' needs. State policy on teacher preparation and training differs widely across states. In many, including Connecticut, very little, if any, pre-service or in-service training on MLs is required for generalist teachers. This lack of generalist ML training suggests that the educator workforce may lack the necessary training to create favorable learning environments for these students. This dissertation will examine how state policy contributes to local practice by carrying out interviews with state education agency (SEA) staff and district staff and administering a teacher survey. The study is grounded in four research questions: What is the nature of state level policy pertaining to pre-service generalist teacher preparation on serving MLs?; How are districts approaching support for generalist teachers on instructing MLs?; Across the three districts, to what extent do teachers feel that their pre-service programs prepared them to serve MLs?; and, To what extent do generalist teachers feel able to engage in evidence-based instruction for MLs? Recommendations for state policy actions will be made based on the findings. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]