Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
The season opens with the extended family at a Wyoming dude ranch, where Jay clashes with cowboy Hank and Mitchell and Cameron announce that they want to adopt another child. Lily reacts badly to the idea of a baby joining the household, but the couple keep pursuing the possibility, meeting potential birth mothers and preparing for a second adoption. Back in Los Angeles, Claire campaigns for a stop sign and then runs for city council; on election day the family helps, but Claire loses to Duane Bailey after a string of mishaps. Phil takes Haley to visit his college, while Claire worries that her eldest daughter's future may be slipping away. A later Disneyland day brings Haley face to face with Dylan again as Claire attempts to set her up with someone else.
Jay and Gloria continue adjusting to life together as Jay bonds with Stella and tries to understand Manny's growing independence. Gloria helps Haley with Spanish and, in the finale, accompanies Mitchell and Cameron to Calexico when an adoption agency calls about a woman in early labour who has chosen them. The birth mother's own mother ultimately decides to raise the baby, so Mitchell and Cameron return heartbroken and put their adoption plans on hold; they do not adopt a second child. At the same time, Dylan and Luke reveal that Haley has been accepted to a four-year college, despite her plan to move out with Dylan. In the finale's last scene, Gloria reveals to the camera that she is pregnant, ending the season with a new baby expected in Jay and Gloria's household.