FILE:  IDDH

Cf: JQH

ENGLISH LEARNER PROGRAM

The Ouachita Parish School Board recognizes that the inability to speak and understand the English language limits the student's effective participation in the educational programs of the school district.  Students whose primary languages are languages other than English shall be provided special assistance, in conformity with applicable Federal and State statutes and regulations, until they are able to use English in a manner that allows effective, relevant participation in regular classroom instruction.

The School Board shall maintain a plan to serve English Learners (EL) to ensure that immediately upon enrollment, students have access to any specialized language instructional program.  The plan shall also provide resources to support the specialized language instructional program and student’s academic achievement.  In the plan, the School Board shall outline how it will:

• identify English Learners;
  
  

• design an effective program reflective of English Learners’ needs;
  
  

• employ appropriate English-as-a-second-language or bilingual personnel (or both);
  
  

• align the instruction of English Learners to state and local content standards; and
  
  

• provide ongoing authentic assessments to ascertain student’s growth in English proficiency and in the comprehension of academic content.

Parents shall be notified of their children's eligibility for the English Learner program no later thirty (30) days after the start of school.  Notification shall include their child's level of proficiency and how it was assessed, program components and expectations, parental rights, and any other information required by Federal statutes and regulations.  All written communications to parents shall be in a uniform format that is comprehensible to families and in a language the parents can understand.

Revised:  February 27, 2018

Ref:    20 USC 1703 (Denial of Equal Educational Opportunity Prohibited)

20 USC 6801 et seq. (Language Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students)

42 USC 2000d et seq. (Civil Rights-Federally Assisted Programs)

Lau v. Nichols, 414 US 563 (1974)

Board minutes, 2-27-18

Ouachita Parish School Board