Bilingual Education Handbook Compare and Contrast

Danville School District ESOL program handbook contains policies and procedures that help English language learners (ELLs) attain English proficiency. The key components of the handbook include 1) the district’s legal obligations to ELLs and their parents, 2) the district’s procedures for identifying, assessing and placing students in ESOL program, 3) the district’s educational approach and curriculum, 4) the district’s methods and procedures for students exiting from ESOL program, and 5) the district’s method of evaluating the effectiveness of the ESOL program (“Danville School District ESOL Program Handbook,”2019). The remainder of this paper elaborates on how the above key components of the handbook are consistent with language policies reviewed in this course.
Danville School District legal obligations to ELLs and their parents
Below are some of the legal reasons why the district has an ESOL program.
The Civil Rights of 1964, Title VI
Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits recipients of federal financial assistance from discriminating a student on color, race, or country of origin (“Danville School District ESOL Program Handbook,”2019). Since all public schools get some kind of federal funding, Title VI is applicable. In case a school does not get federal fudning, then Title VI is not applicable. This law calls on the district to address all language barriers so that ELLs can have significant access to every curricular and extracurricular program. Meaningful access means that ELLs are provided with opportunities to participate in curricular and extracurricular activities, just like native English speakers.
Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974
The Equal Educational Opportunities Act states that each district should “take appropriate action to overcome barriers that impede equal participation [of their] students in [they are] instructional programs” (“Danville School District ESOL Program Handbook,”2019). This Act forms the basis of the ESOL program. It is also consistent with bilingual language policy that calls on teachers to practice gender, racial, socioeconomic, and cultural equity (U.S. Department of Justice, 2019).
Castaneda v. Pickard 1981 (5th Circuit Court)
This is a three-pronged approach to deciding whether or not a district’s program is adequate (Sutton et al., 2012). First, the alternative language program must be a legitimate experimental strategy. Second, the program and practices used by a school should be implemented effectively. Third and lastly, the program must be evaluated within a reasonable time to ensure that it is working. In case the program does not generate results, then it should be modified. This court decision forms the basis of the ESOL program. The ESOL program is based on sound educational theory, and it is evaluated annually to ensure it produces results.
Brown v. Board of Education, 1954
The American Supreme Court ruled “that where a state has undertaken to provide an opportunity for an education in public schools, such an opportunity is a right which must be made available to all in equal terms” (“Danville School District ESOL Program Handbook,”2019). This ruling prohibits public schools from segregating learners based on factors such as race or English competency. That explains why public schools admit learners who are not proficient in English. Furthermore, public schools are required to take affirmative actions that will help ELLs attain English proficiency. ESOL program is an example of affirmative action that the Danville school district has undertaken to help ELLs attain English proficiency.
Diana v. State Board of Education,1970
This court ruling prohibits school districts from placing ELLs in special education based on tests administered in English. A learner who is not skilled in English is not necessarily a mental retard. So, they should be placed in the mainstream classroom.
Lau v. Nichols, 1974.
Lau v. Nichols is a landmark case that supports ELL education. It established a very important principle, which became the basis for the requirement of English as a second language in American public schools. The Supreme court ruled that Title VI involving the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects students who are not skilled in English language and their parents from discrimination. So, each school district is required to provide English as a second language in some valid form so that ELLs can learn English and gain access to the content of instruction. The ESOL program provides English as a second language.
Identification, Assessment, and Placement of Potential ELLs.
The district uses a Home language survey (HLS) to identify potential ELLs. The survey is administered to all students upon initial enrollment. If, in the HLS, there are other responses other than English, the student qualifies for initial ESOL program assessment. The potential ELLs are screened for English language proficiency using English Language Proficiency ELPA21. The final placement is done by the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC). The District LPAC is made up of Building Principal, ESOL coordinator, Building counselor, and regular classroom teacher (“Danville School District ESOL Program Handbook,”2019).
The procedures for identifying potential ELLs are consistent with language policy because it is not discriminatory. All learners are required to complete the HLS form, a process that is discriminatory and targets minority students. Also, teachers participate in the assessment and placement of ELLs into the ESOL program (Diaz-Rico & Weed, 2010). By serving in the LPAC, teachers can share their expertise and propose effective ways of identifying potential ELLs.
Educational Approach and Curriculum
Educational approach and curriculum refer to the actual services provided to ELLs once they have been identified and placed in an ESOL program. The district’s educational approach is English as a Second (Subsequent) Language (ESL). Under this educational approach, an “ESL-certified teacher provides explicit language instruction to students” U.S. Department of Education, 2012). In ESL, ELLs are placed in content classes with integrated English learning support. The district should provide personnel and resources necessary to implement the ESL effectively. Therefore, the district plays a vital role in ensuring there is an adequate number of teachers to instruct ELLs and that ESOL teachers are highly trained in ESL practices and procedures. Additionally, ELLs should attain English proficiency after participating in the ESOL program. They are also entitled to participate in all extracurricular activities as native English speakers.
The district’s educational approach is consistent with practices incorporated in teachers’ plans. Teachers are expected to plan for instruction that meets the needs of all learners in the following three ways: 1) taking into consideration the students’ background and interests when developing instruction, 2) ensuring that material for bilingual and multicultural instruction receive an equitable share of budgeted resources, and 3) teachers daily plans include adequate time for the development of primary-language skills (Diaz-Rico & Weed, 2010).
The curriculum is well support because it promotes parent communication. Student’s parents of students who are placed in the ESOL program are notified in a language they understand better. Parent notifications include the following items: 1) student’s English proficiency level, 2) the method of instruction to be used, 3) reasons for identifying and placing the student into an ESOL program, 4) how the ESOL program will help the student attain English proficiency, and 5) the criteria of exit from the ESOL program. Research suggests that programs that involve parents tend to be successful (Diaz-Rico & Weed, 2010).
Exiting ELLs from ESOL Program
An ELL exiting the ESOL program must meet the following criteria: 1) proficient in the ELPA21 and 2) demonstrate success in English Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, science, and social studies. Procedures for exiting include parents receiving Parent Notification of Exit, LPAC confirms the ELL has met the criteria for the exit, and the ELL is reclassified as Monitored (MI) student.
ESOL Program Evaluation
The district will evaluate the ESOL program on an annual basis. Continuing with the ESOL program with a sound educational approach is not sufficient if the program, as implemented, proves to be ineffective. The success of the ESOL program is measured in terms of whether the goals of ESOL are being met. The primary goal of ESOL is to enable ELLs to attain English proficiency within a reasonable time. This goal is consistent with bilingual language policy that calls on teachers to create instructional plans that incorporate adequate time for English language development (Diaz-Rico & Weed, 2010).
The procedure for evaluation involves reviewing the procedures for identifying, assessing, and placing potential ELLs into the ESOL program, the district’s educational approach and curriculum, and procedures for exiting students. Program evaluation helps the district to comply with its obligations to ELLs and their families.
Conclusion
Danville School District ESOL program handbook is guided by various legal precedents particularly Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974, the Civil Rights of 1964, Title VI, and Castaneda v. Pickard 1981 (5th Circuit Court. These laws form the basis of ESOL program. Other components of ESOL include 1) procedures for identifying, assessing, and placing potential ELLs into ESOL program, 2) components of ESOL program, 3) the criteria for exiting from ESOL program, and 4) procedures for evaluating ESOL program. The policies contained in the ESOL handbook are consistent with language policies reviewed in this course. Furthermore, the policies are also well supported. Given this fact, the handbook should be implemented as it is.
References
Danville School District ESOL Program Handbook. (2019, October). Cloud Object Storage | Store & Retrieve Data Anywhere | Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3). https://s3.amazonaws.com/scschoolfiles/364/esl_handbook_updated_oct_2019_1.pdf
Díaz-Rico, L. T., & Weed, K. Z. (2010). The Crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook: A complete K-12 reference guide (4th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
Sutton, L. C., Cornelius, L., & McDonald-Gordon, R. (2012). English language learners and judicial oversight: Progeny of Castaneda. Educational Considerations, 39(2). https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.1111
U.S. Department of Education. (2012, May). Language Instruction Educational Programs (LIEPs): A Review of the Foundational Literature. https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/title-iii/language-instruction-ed-programs-report.pdf
U.S. Department of Justice. (2019, October 15). Types of educational opportunities discrimination. https://www.justice.gov/crt/types-educational-opportunities-discrimination