Thanks IOhannes, this is helpful and it explains why I was able to link to the newest Leap library on Windows for the ultraleap external - that one is in straight C.
That said, would it be worth my time to try and set up a Visual Studio project and build against the old C++ library there? I only have experience using VS with JUCE-generated projects so it would be a bit of a slog for me to try and set things up from a blank slate, but I'd be game if there's hope it'll work. I'm just trying to get this accessible to as many students as possible, and the old library offers tool and gesture tracking, which Leap has dropped in the new version.