Arizona Language Minority Rights Roundtable, Jan.2829,2005 Stefan M. Rosenzweig, Scholar in Residenc

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Arizona Language Minority Rights Roundtable,
Jan.28-29,2005Stefan M. Rosenzweig, Scholar in
Residence, Center for Language Minority Education
and Research, Cal State University, Long
Beachsrosenzw_at_csulb.eduwww.clmer.csulb.edu

• The Federal Government and the Rights of Limited
  English Proficient Students

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National origin-minority student with limited
English proficiency (LEP student)

• A student who cannot speak, read, write, and/or
  understand English well enough to participate
  meaningfully in the school districts education
  program.
• An LEP student is sometimes called an English
  language learner (ELL).

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Terminology

• ELL/EL LEP/FEP/PEPLES/NES/FES
• ESL ESOL English ImmersionSheltered
• Bilingual
• Early Exit, transitional
• Late Exit, Maintenance
• Bilingual-Bicultural
• Two- Way Immersion

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How (Federal) Laws are Made
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Federal Law

• -Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• -OCR, May 25,1970 Memorandum.
• -Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S.565 (1974)
• -Equal Education Opportunities Act of 1974
• -Castaneda v. Pickard, 648 F.2d 989 (5th Cir.
  1981)
• -Idaho Migrant Council v. Board of Education, 647
  F.2d 69 (9thCir. 1981) and Gomez v. Illinois
  State Bd of Ed, 811 F.2d 1030 (7th Cir. 1987)
• -OCR Policy Memoranda (1985, 1991)
• -Executive Order 13166 (2000)

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Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

• no person in the United States shall,on the
  ground of race, color or national origin, be
  excluded from participation in, be denied the
  benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination
  under any program or activity receiving Federal
  financial assistance.
• Prohibits discrimination based on race, color or
  national origin
• Courts and OCR have interpreted national origin
  to cover limited English proficiency

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May 25, 1970 MemorandumH.E.W.

• Where inability to speak or 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.

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May 1970 Memorandum (cont)

• School districts have the responsibility to
  adequately notify parents with limited English
  proficiency of school activities which are called
  to the attention of other parents. Such notice
  in order to be adequate may have to be provided
  in a language other than English.

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Lau v. Nichols (U.S.S.Ct. 1974)

• 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.
  Classroom experiences would be wholly
  incomprehensible and in no way meaningful.

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Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974

• 20 U.S.C. Sec.1703 (f)
• No state shall deny equal educational
  opportunity to an individual on account of his or
  her race, color, sex, or national origin, by-
• (f) the failure of an educational agency to
  take appropriate action to overcome language
  barriers that impede equal participation by its
  students in its instructional programs.

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Castaneda v. Pickard 1981

• Three prong test
• 1. Whether a district is pursuing a program
  informed by an educational theory recognized as
  sound by some experts in the field or, at least,
  deemed a legitimate experimental strategy
• 2. Whether steps are taken to implement
  effectively the educational theory adopted by the
  school.
• 3. After a legitimate trial period the program
  is to be examined for indications that the
  language barriers confronting students are
  actually being overcome.
• The program must be Evaluated and Modified if
  barriers not overcome.

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Castaneda (cont.)

• LEP students must be provided the opportunity to
  learn English and to have access to the
  districts educational program.
• Leaves schools free to determine the sequence
  and manner in which LEP students tackle this dual
  challenge so long as the schools design programs
  which are reasonably calculated to enable these
  students to attain parity of participation in the
  standard instructional program within a
  reasonable length of time after they enter the
  school system.

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Idaho Migrant Council/Gomez v. Illinois

• federal law imposes requirements on the State
  Agency to ensure that plaintiffs language
  deficiencies are addressed.

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Office for Civil Rights Policyhttp//www.ed.gov/a
bout/list/ocr/docs/laumemos.html
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OCRs role

• Investigates and resolves complaints
• Conducts proactive compliance reviews
• Gives technical assistance to educators and
  parents
• Addresses a Department key priority -
  participation of LEP parents in their childrens
  education
• Allows flexibility to school districts

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OCRs Investigative and Resolution Process

• Gather data
• Identify concerns
• Review files
• Interview school officials and parents
• Make compliance determinations
• Work with educators to remedy any noncompliance
  findings
• Monitor compliance agreements

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ELL Program Components

• GOALS
• Mandatory
• English Language Development
• Academic Success
• Optional
• Primary Language Development
• Two-Way Immersion

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OCR Compliance Review

• Identification
• Home Language Survey
• Identification As PHLOTE
• Assessment of ELL Status
• Speaking, reading, writing and understanding
• Grade appropriate assessments

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Compliance Review (2)

• Programming
• English
• Subject Matter/Core Curriculum
• Placement
• Least Segregative Manner.

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Compliance Review (3)

• Staffing and Resources
• Qualified Teachers
• Aides
• Access to Other Services
• SPEDLEP
• GATE
• Counseling
• Field trips
• Magnets
• Vocational Ed
• Etc

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SPEDLEP

• OCR acronym for issues involving LEP students and
  special education
• Inappropriate placement of national origin-
  minority students in special education because of
  their limited proficiency in English or
• Denial of special education to national origin-
  minority students because of their limited
  proficiency in English.

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Compliance Review (4)

• Redesignation/Exit
• Monitoring of Exited Students
• Program Evaluation/Review and
• Improvement

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Examples How school districts have corrected
concerns

• New or revised policies/procedures
• Staff training
• Review of evaluation instruments
• Re-evaluation of students classification
  placement services
• Improved parent notice

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Executive Order 13166

• Improving Access to Services for Persons with
  Limited English Proficiency

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Parental Notices

• Notices provided all students must be provided
  to LEP students in a languagethat they
  understand
• School districts have a responsibility to
  adequately notify national-origin minority group
  parents of school activities that are called to
  the attention of other parents, and
• Such notice in order to be adequate may have to
  be provided in a language other than English,
  OCR Case No. 07011158(Tucson USD),
• Qualified interpreter/translation services should
  be provided at no cost. www.lep.gov/agencyguide.ht
  ml.

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Internet Resources (Federal)

• OCR policy memos and resources regarding LEP
  students
• http//www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/ellresou
  rces.html
• The National Clearinghouse for English Language
  Acquisition and Language Instruction Educational
  Programs (NCELA) http//www.ncela.gwu.edu