MSAD #37 POLICY

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (LAU PLAN)

It is the policy of the MSAD #37 to provide equitable access for Limited English Proficient (LEP) students. According to the Equal Education Opportunities Act (1974), this district must make an effort to do whatever is educationally appropriate to address the English and educational needs of the Limited English Proficient student so that he/she can compete with his/her same age English background peers. Qualifying students will be identified and placed in programs and services in accordance with statutory guidelines.

The MSAD #37 district will strive to provide a linguistically and culturally rich learning and teaching environment. It is the policy of the MSAD #37 district to comply with all federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination against students on the basis of all civil rights categories.

I. Establish a Language Assessment Committee (LAC) that will consist of an administrator, classroom teacher, ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher, and a parent or guardian, if possible. Appropriate support staff, such as a guidance counselor, will be included when they are involved in the student’s program.

The responsibilities of the Language Assessment Committee include:

a. Identify Limited English Proficient students using the World Class Instructional Design (WIDA) ACCESS for English-Language Learners (ELL) and W-APT assessment tools;

b. Develop an appropriate and effective language support program that

Promotes efforts by LEP students to achieve the Maine Learning Results and Grade

Level Expectations;

c. Monitor the student’s progress on an on-going basis;

d. Notify parent or guardian of all decisions, in a language they comprehend,

and their right to appeal their child’s participation in ESL;

e. Determine that the LEP student meets the exit criteria by achieving all

level 5’s Tier C of the ACCESS for ELLs assessment;

f. Monitor the exited LEP student for two years;

g. Make recommendations for programming for the next school year.

II. All newly-enrolled students, including transfers, will be initially screened through the Home

Language Survey. If a student is identified as possibly non-English proficient, a follow-up

background questionnaire will be completed by the ESL teacher, classroom teacher or

building principal.

If a student has been previously identified as Limited English Proficient, W-APT screening is not required. However, English proficiency assessment is required annually in all communicative skills domains.

III. Assessment of English Language Proficiency and academic skills will begin within ten

school days of the initial screening by the Home Language Survey. Possible LEP students

will be assessed for level of English Language Proficiency through:

a. Consultation with classroom teacher where appropriate;

b. Anecdotal information from student, family and/or sponsors;

c. Testing for proficiency in the Academic English of content areas;

d. Oral and written assessment of English;

e. Assessment of academic proficiency in the student’s L1 (first language)

through school records, anecdotal records, writing sample and interview.

IV. Grade level placement requires careful consideration from the LAC, and includes:

~ the student’s chronological age

~ the student’s educational background

~ the student’s English language proficiency level determined through the

WIDA assessments

~ the student’s academic performance.

With this information, which should have been collected as expeditiously as possible, the

LAC will decide at what grade level the student should be placed. Under no circumstances

will a student be placed in a grade level that is more than one year below his/her

chronological age. Although it may seem logical to place a language minority student at a

grade level that matches the kind of English skills he/she needs to acquire, it would be a great

disservice to the student both socially and cognitively to do so. The school committee is

obligated to provide a structured language support program that meets the ESL as well as

content area needs of the student consistent with state and federal statute and case law

precedent.

Regarding the issue of grade level retention, on the whole, retention is only advisable when a

language minority student is lagging behind peers socially and emotionally (and even that

may not be appropriate). It stands to reason that a language minority – LEP student will not

be on grade level academically until he/she has had the opportunity to acquire the English

skills and content necessary for success.

It is not appropriate to retain a LEP student solely for the reason of limited English

proficiency because the student has unique needs and must be given ample time from grade

level to grade level to acquire English proficiency. The school committee accepts the

research findings that the acquisition of a second language for cognitive/academic proficiency

can take from five to seven years under optimal circumstances of academic and English

language proficiency support.

The most advantageous way to avoid grade level retention is to make accommodations for the

LEP student in the mainstream classroom and to maintain a close collaborative relationship

between the mainstream and ESL programs. If a LEP student is referred for retention, the

LAC should be included in that process to ensure that language proficiency is not the sole

reason for the referral.

V. Each LEP student in MSAD #37 will be enrolled in mainstream programs to the extent possible and integrated into regular activities. The regular classroom teacher will share the responsibility of programming with a qualified ESL teacher. Modifications to the regular curriculum will be supported by appropriate instructional materials. An ESL program will be provided at a specified school at each level in order to maximize language support services with sheltered content instruction to support access to the Learning Results. Sheltered content instruction is an approach that utilizes the simplification of the English language to teach ESL and subject area content simultaneously. Although the actual content is the same as that taught to non-LEP students, key concepts and vocabulary are targeted to fit the ESL student’s English language proficiency level.

The following guidelines will be utilized in the development of a student’s program:

1. Instruction will be provided during the regular school hours or after school when necessary.

2. Student’s grade placement will be age appropriate.

3. The ESL teacher and classroom teacher will coordinate efforts to support the

student’s acquisition of English and the Learning Results.

4. The ESL teacher will extend instruction into the classroom providing support to

the LEP student and will share the cultural diversity and the new language with

other students (when and if appropriate).

5. Instructional space will be provided to LEP students that is comparable to space

provided for non-LEP students.

6. The amount of time spent with the ESL teacher will be determined by the annual

WIDA ACCESS for ELLs assessment. The tier (A,B,or C) and level (1,2,3,4,5) guide

the intensity and duration of ESL services.

7. Home visits will be conducted as part of an outreach effort to parents of ESL

students with support to those parents in their language when possible.

VI. ESL Teacher requirements are as follows:

1. Hold State of Maine Certification with ESL endorsement.

2. Administer multi-criteria evaluations used to determine eligibility.

3. Communicate at least quarterly or each trimester with parents regarding

progress of the student in a language the parent/guardian understands.

4. Recommend modification or revisions to the LAU Plan.

5. Recommend reclassification or exiting of students based upon WIDA

Assessments.

6. Provide meaningful cultural and language information to students, teachers,

and classmates.

7. Insure that high school students receive appropriate career and educational

information , that all post graduate opportunities are made equitably accessible

to the LEP student

8. Monitor students who have exited the ESL program for a period of two years.

9. Maintain a language development file on each student served by the ESL

Program.

VII. A student is not Fluent English Proficient (FEP) until the student achieves all level 5’s on

the Tier C of the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs Assessment. A student is not exited from the

ESL program until this goal is achieved.

VIII. Determining special needs placement for students who are receiving ESL services is a

complex process. There may be a number of individual or combined factors determining

why language and cultural minority students are achieving little academic progress over

time; the normal process of second language acquisition, the acculturation progress,

different learning styles, motivation to learn, or the student’s lack of prior schooling are a

number of potential factors instead of intrinsic learning problems. Screening and

diagnosing at-risk students receiving ESL services include a number of pre-referral steps to

determine whether there exist temporary learning and behavior characteristics shared by

learning disabled students and students of English as a Second Language., or whether

referral to special education is warranted. The ESL teacher and coordinator must be

involved throughout the process.

The following pre-referral process will be followed to determine the necessity for referral to

special education:

1. When the student experiences continued, serious academic/social behavioral

difficulty, examine systematic efforts to identify the source of difficulty.

a. Curriculum: continuity of exposure, scope and sequence, student’s entry level skills, cognitive demands, mastery criteria, amount of practice exhibited in the native language.

b. Instruction: sequencing of content, language use, effective teaching

behaviors, coordination with other teachers.

c. Teacher: qualifications, experience with LEP students, teaching style,

expectations, perceptions, instructional management, behavior management.

d. Student: experiential background, native language proficiency, cultural

characteristics, cognitive learning style, locus of control/attribution, self-

concept, motivation.

e. Assessment: learning standards, data collection procedures, modifications.

2. Examine the student’s individual and group behavior, parental perceptions, work

samples, and teacher perceptions.

a. Cultural differences: country of origin, length or residence in the U.S., age at

arrival.

b. Language differences: first language characteristics, rate of progress in

English, opportunities to use English outside of school, literacy skills in first

language.

c. Environmental factors: background factors, attitudes on schooling,

interruptions/traumas, frequency of school moves, family separation, family

support for schooling, home environment factors.

d. Medical/physical factors: history, present conditions.

e. Achievement/performance factors: listening comprehension, oral

expression, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, written expression.

f. Learning/behavior factors: visual discrimination, auditory discrimination,

visual memory, auditory memory, visual motor coordination,

attention/coordination, social perception, problem solving, activity level,

speech.

3. Parents, teachers, and support staff can initiate referral to Special Education. Parents

will be provided with an interpreter. The Language Assessment Committee (LAC)

can also refer a student to special education services for continued diagnosis and

testing if: (a) systematic efforts to identify the source of the difficulty are

unsuccessful and/or (b) the intervention checklist identifies behavioral patterns

deemed necessary for continued assessment. The LAC will gather the information

and process the referral observing Special Education regulation timelines. The

disabling condition must occur in the student’s primary language to warrant a

referral.

IX. In order to ensure the most effective and appropriate structured language support programming for limited English proficient students, a model for overall program evaluation must be developed and utilized consistent with state and federal statute. An annual program evaluation will illustrate: attainment of program outcomes; English language and content acquisition; attainment of learner outcomes; school climate and support for the program and students; the quality of instructional materials; the amount and effectiveness of mainstream ESL collaboration; the effectiveness of school and program communication with parents; and, the implementation of the LAU Plan itself.

The program accountability and demonstration of outcomes will enhance the program’s

legitimacy in the school and will consummate the work and methods of the program toward

the ultimate goal of continually improving instruction to meet learner instructional needs.

The following three circumstances could present themselves. The policy of MSAD #37 is as follows:

1. Although language minority/limited English proficient students may be eligible for

NCLB Title I and Title III services under the same criteria as other students, any may

receive those services. Title I and Title III services cannot supplant structured

support services such as ESL.

2. Limited English proficiency is not a disability as defined by the Americans with

Disabilities Act of 1994 and State special education regulations. If a language

minority student is referred for a special education evaluation, a culturally and

linguistically non-biased evaluation must comply with state and federal regulations.

An assessment of the student’s native language skills as soon after school enrollment

as possible is advisable so that any significant problems can be identified and noted

for future references. The disability must be determined in the student’s primary

language.

3. In the event that a parent/guardian refuses ESL services for their child, a signed letter

of refusal will be placed in the student’s file. These ESL services will be offered

yearly and a letter of refusal must be signed annually. The parent/guardian may

withdraw the refusal of services at any time.

X. Funding for the ESL program in MSAD #37 will be determined annually, predicated upon

all students’ WIDA ACCESS for ELLs assessment tier and level.

Legal References

Civil Rights Act (Title VI) of 1964”

“No person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, or natural origin be excluded from participation in, be denied under the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

Lau v. Nichols: U.S. Supreme Court Decision of 1974

“There is no equality of treatment merely by providing students with the same facilities, textbook, teachers, and curriculum, for students who do not understand English are effectively foreclosed from any meaningful education. “

Memorandum May 25, 1970 Department of Health, Education and Welfare

“Where inability to speak and understand the English language excluded national origin-minority 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.”

Office of Civil Rights, Fall 1985 Memorandum to the May 25, 1970 Memorandum

“Title VI rights are for individual rights, the LEA’s must heed the May 25^th memorandum even if they have only a single Limited English Proficient (LEP) student.”

Board Approved: June 28, 2006

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