In our online class, we had to discuss what are schools' legal responsibilities in regards to ESL students. One of my favorite things to do is create a list of everyone's responses. As my professor always says, "Work smarter, not harder." :) :)
- On the most basic level, "...legal obligations exist to ensure equal
educational opportunity for LEP students. Districts are required to
establish, sustain, and improve learning environments which alleviate
the barrier caused by not being able to communicate fully and
effectively in English, the language used within the classroom. These
legal obligations apply even in schools or classes where only one LEP
student is present."
- ELL Manual: Kentucky Department of
Education [KDE] provides two documents for supporting the
implementation of programming for English learners:
- Landmark Court Cases and English Learners
- In 1973, Keyes v. Denver was the first de facto segregation case heard in the U.S.
- In 1974, the Lau v. Nichols case argued that the local
school district was not providing an adequate education to its English
learners because ELs could not sufficiently comprehend English.
- In 1978, Castañeda v. Pickard argued that their local district was
segregating students based on race and ethnicity and that the district
failed to implement a successful bilingual education program in which
children would learn English.
- The official federal definition of an English language instructional program follows: LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM-
- The term language instruction educational program means an instruction course:
- in which a limited English proficient child is
placed for the purpose of developing and attaining English proficiency,
while meeting challenging State academic content and student academic
achievement standards, as required by section 1111(b) (1); and
- that may make instructional use of both English and
a child’s native language to enable the child to develop and attain
English proficiency, and may include the participation of English
proficient children if such course is designed to enable all
participating children to become proficient in English and a second
language. (Title III, Subpart 5, Part C, Section 3301(8))
- Federal Guidelines require local schools to:
- Provide a means for identifying their English learners
- Place their English learners in English language
development and academic achievement programming that is
research-based, known to be scientifically sound, and, is proven to be
effective based on state regulations
- Every school district/charter school shall
provide a program for each student whose dominant language is not
English for the purpose of facilitating the student's achievement of
English proficiency and the academic standards. Programs shall include
appropriate bilingual-bicultural or English as a second language (ESL)
instruction.
- Schools
have the responsibility to offer any and all accommodations ESL
students need in the classroom and on assessments. These accommodations
include: read text in English, scribe responses, bilingual/English dictionary, promoting/cueing, provide visuals/organizers, use spell-check, provide content objectives, engage in academic conversations, teach and model mega-cognitive, oral native language support, read test in primary language, extended time, small group/single test form admin., provide adapted materials/tech, link instruction to prior learning, build background knowledge, scaffold responses (oral/written), bilingual or English glossary, simplified language, assistive technology, adapt pace of instruction, use computer/software, provide language objectives, model language/task completion, provide interaction opportunities
- Parents must be informed in a language they understand, 1. when their
child has been identified as an EL, 2. the reasons for the
identification, 3. the child's level of English language development,
and 4. how the language development program will help their child learn
English and meet academic standards.
- In the state of Kentucky, all local school districts are required to
administer a home language survey (HLS) to students enrolled in the
district. This is the first step in a screening process used to identify
students with limited English proficiency (LEP). The home language
survey used by schools is based on a required minimum of four questions.
Schools may make addendums to these surveys in order to learn more
about a student’s personal, educational, and cultural background. If the answer to any of the four required Home Language Survey
questions is a language other than English, students are considered to
be from a non-English language background (NELB) and are then required
to take the WIDA ACCESS Placement Test or W-APT. WIDA stands for
World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment, and is a consortium of
teachers, researchers, linguists, and curriculum experts who concentrate
on academic language development and academic achievement for
linguistically diverse students through high quality standards,
assessments, research, and professional development for educator (WIDA,
2011). The Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English
State-to-State for English Language Learners or ACCESS test gives
schools an overview of a student’s English proficiency, specifically in
the realm of academic English. A student is formally identified as Limited English Proficient (LEP)
based on the W-APT results, which measure the four domains of academic
language use: listening, speaking, reading and writing. These results,
along with a professional judgment (based on interviews, observations,
and student educational background) determine the placement,
accommodations, services, and resources the school should provide the
child, created in an instructional plan called a Program Services Plan
or PSP. The results of the W-APT and the resulting PSP must be shared
with the parents within the first 30 days of the school year or within
two weeks of enrollment during the school year. Written documentation
and/or oral interpretation should be provided to parents/guardians, to
the extent practical, in a language that they can understand. The design of a Program Services Plan is lead by a district or school
PSP committee (e.g., ELL and mainstream teachers/ specialists, an
instructional leader, counselor, parent, student), who create a PSP for
each student identified as LEP. The PSP includes: the reasons for
identification (results of the W-APT and, when appropriate, annual
language assessment), level of English proficiency, previous academic
background and experience, cultural and language history, service
delivery model/s for English language instruction, and all appropriate
instructional and assessment accommodations and/or modifications. The PSP will be shared with all school personnel who have access to
and work with students who have services plans. These personnel are
often called “stakeholders” and are involved in the placement and/or
instruction of English language learners (ELLs) and PSP students.
Administrators should ensure that teachers are prepared to, or are being
prepared to, implement appropriate accommodations and modifications for
students’ PSPs. Individual educators may have professional growth plans
that reflect development needs and expected outcomes for language and
academic learning of ELLs. Likewise, a school or a district could have
continuous improvement plans and expected outcomes, as well as
guidelines, in place for these students and those within the school who
have contact with them. In the state of Kentucky, an annual English language proficiency
(ELP) assessment, called ACCESS for ELLs™, is used to measure the
statewide strengths and weaknesses of students’ English language
proficiency skills. The state conducts these tests within a certain time
period between January and February of every year, and requires each
district to ensure that all ACCESS test administrators are certified.
The state uses the results of these tests to assess language proficiency
amongst its ELL students, areas of growth, area of concern, and as
justification for funding and creation of programs that will further
benefit language learners.
- "NCLB
requires each state to develop ELP standards and ELP assessments
designed to measure LEP students' progress in meeting those standards
(NCLB §3102(8)). The standards and assessments must be based on "the
four domains of speaking, reading, listening, and writing," and
assessments must also include the domain of "comprehension" as exhibited
through listening and reading (U.S. Department of Education, 2003a, p.
5). In addition, the standards established for each grade level must
identify benchmarks for ELL students at different levels of English
proficiency. Each state's ELP standards must have the following
components (p. 8):
- "A label for each level (e.g., Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced)"
- "A brief narrative description that suggests the defining characteristics of the level"
- "A description of what students can do in content at this level of English language proficiency"
- "An assessment score that determines the attainment of the level"
- Most of the language proficiency assessments that states and
school districts were using when NCLB went into effect did not meet
these requirements, and thus new statewide ELP standards and assessments
had to be developed. Many states struggled to fully comply with the
requirements by the deadlines."
- Federal money is awarded to schools via Title III in the No Child Left
Behind Act. Schools have to have a minimum number of language learners
in attendance to receive the funding. If students'
needs are not being met, i.e. they are not receiving accommodations or
the school fails to bridge the gaps to higher level learning, Title III
funding can be taken away. Parents also have the right to sue the
school.
- An ESL teacher is responsible for creating a safe and stimulating
environment where the students are able to learn. A variety of
manipulatives should be used to teach the students English. Pictures
and the use of technology can be very helpful. The teacher also has the
responsibility of making sure the culture of his/her students is
maintained. I believe keeping the students cultural identity is key to
that particular student learning English. The teacher is also
responsible for creating a kind and positive environment. Learning a new
language can be very difficult and may cause many students to want to
give up. That ESL teacher has to make sure he/she is encouraging the
student to learn and making sure they know it is OK to make mistakes
sometimes. The ESL teacher also needs to collaborate with the other
teachers and create a plan for her students that can be observed in the
regular classrooms. The ESL teacher also needs to be able to help
families adapt to their new homes and new culture. It is the job of the
ESL teacher to make sure his/her students are receiving all of the
support they need to be successful students and to learn the English
language. No child should be robbed of an education just because they
are not proficient in English. The ESL teacher needs to see that they
become proficient English readers and writers.
- As a school, they have the responsibility of making sure they are
hiring and keeping teachers who display these characteristics. They need
to make sure they are giving every student the equal opportunity to
learn and, employing teachers who best fit the description of what an
ESL teacher should be doing in the classroom. If that person is not
accurately filling the role they need to take action and make sure they
begin doing a correct job or, find someone who will. According to the
Civil Rights Act of 1991, an ESL teacher must have been adequately
trained and evaluated by someone with similar methods used. Exit must be
based on objective standards and (something I found interesting) the
school cannot have a policy of "no double services" this means if an ESL
student needs additional special education help, they can not be
denied. They can also, not be denied from a gifted and talented program.
The school needs to make sure they are following all of these
guidelines.
- Under civil rights law, schools are obligated to ensure that ELLs have equal access to education. Approximately 5 million students in U.S. schools have limited English
language skills that affect their ability to participate successfully
in education programs and achieve high academic standards. It is the
responsibility of schools to ensure that all students, including these
English language-learning (ELL) students, have equal access to a quality
education that enables them to progress academically while learning
English. The specific services to be provided are not specified by
federal or state law; however, legislation provides the following broad
outlines. In 1970, the federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a memo
regarding school districts' responsibilities under civil rights law to
provide an equal educational opportunity to ELLs. This memorandum
stated: "Where the inability to speak and understand the English language
excludes national origin minority group children from effective
participation in the educational program offered by a school district,
the district must take affirmative steps to rectify the language
deficiency in order to open its instructional program to these students." Although the memo requires school districts to take affirmative
steps, it does not prescribe the content of these steps. It does,
however, explain that federal law is violated if:
- students are excluded from effective participation in school
because of their inability to speak and understand the language of
instruction;
- national origin minority students are inappropriately assigned to
special education classes because of their lack of English skills;
- programs for students whose English is less than proficient are not
designed to teach them English as soon as possible, or if these programs
operate as a dead end track; or
- parents whose English is limited do not receive school notices or other information in a language they can understand.
- In its 1974 decision in Lau v. Nichols, the United
States Supreme Court upheld OCR's 1970 memo. The basis for the case was
the claim that the students could not understand the language in which
they were being taught; therefore, they were not being provided with an
equal education. The Supreme Court agreed, saying that: "There is no equality of treatment merely
by providing students with the same facilities, textbooks, teachers, and
curriculum; for students who do not understand English are effectively
foreclosed from any meaningful education." The case reaffirmed that all students in the United States,
regardless of native language, have the right to receive a quality
education. It also clarified that equality of opportunity does not
necessarily mean the same education for every student, but rather the
same opportunity to receive an education. An equal education is only
possible if students can understand the language of instruction. Within weeks of the Lau v. Nichols ruling, Congress passed
the Equal Educational Opportunity Act (EEOA) mandating that no state
shall deny equal education opportunity to any individual, "by the
failure by an educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome
language barriers that impede equal participation by students in an
instructional program." This was an important piece of legislation
because it defined what constituted the denial of education
opportunities. The U.S Department of Education's OCR oversees school districts broad
discretion concerning how to ensure equal educational opportunity for
ELLs. OCR does not prescribe a specific intervention strategy or program
model that a district must adopt to serve ELLs.
- The following guidelines have been outlined for school districts to
ensure that their programs are serving ELLs effectively. Districts
should:
- identify students as potential ELLs;
- assess student's need for ELL services;
- develop a program which, in the view of experts in the field, has a reasonable chance for success;
- ensure that necessary staff, curricular materials, and facilities are in place and used properly;
- develop appropriate evaluation standards, including program exit criteria, for measuring the progress of students; and
- assess the success of the program and modify it where needed.
- Under
civil rights law, schools are obligated to ensure that English learners
(ELs) have equal access to education. However, the Office of Civil
Rights does not explicitly require a school corporation to use a
specific intervention or program in order to serve their LEP students.
However, the OCR has outlined the following procedures that school
corporations should follow in order to ensure that their programs are
serving LEP students:
- Identify students who need assistance;
- Develop a program which, in the view of experts in the field, has a reasonable chance for success;
- Ensure that necessary staff, curricular materials, and facilities are in place and used properly;
- Develop appropriate evaluation standards, including
program exit criteria, for measuring the progress of students; and
- Access the success of the program and modify it where needed
- AMAO=Annual measurable achievement objectives which measure ELL
students development and attainment of language proficiency in English
and adequate yearly progress. They inclued 3 requirements and parents
must be notified if they are not met by the overall program, not just by
the specific student of the parent. These 3 requirements are:
- English language development--progress in language development
- English language proficiency--increases of the number of students attaining proficiency each year
- English Laguage Arts and Mathematics--meeting grade level standards in their content.
Thanks for sharing this post. Many people have master degree in English Literature but they don't have English Language skills for jobs .
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