Florida Administrative Code
6 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
6A - State Board of Education
Chapter 6A-6 - SPECIAL PROGRAMS I
Section 6A-6.0902 - Requirements for Identification, Eligibility, and Programmatic Assessments of English Language Learners
Universal Citation: FL Admin Code R 6A-6.0902
Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
(1) Requirements for identification. Each student shall be surveyed upon initial registration in a Florida public school. The survey shall contain the following questions:
(a) Is a language other than
English used in the home?
(b) Did
the student have a first language other than English?
(c) Does the student most frequently speak a
language other than English?
The questions may appear on a school's registration form or a separate survey form. The home language and the national origin of each student shall also be collected and retained in the district's data system. Affirmative responses to question subsection (b) or (c), or both requires that the student be placed in the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program until completion of the eligibility assessment. A student for whom the only affirmative response to the survey is question (a) does not need to be placed in the ESOL program pending assessment.
(2) Assessment to determine eligibility for appropriate services and funding.
(a) Each
student who responded "yes" to any question on the home language survey shall
be assessed to determine if the student is limited English proficient based on
one of the standards set forth in this subsection. Any student identified by
the home language survey who also meets one of the standards in subparagraphs
(2)(a)1., 2. and 3. of this rule, shall be classified as an English Language
Learner (ELL) and shall receive appropriate instruction and funding as
specified in Sections
1003.56 and
1011.62, F.S.
1. Any student in grades K through 12 who
scores within the limited English proficient range as determined by the
publisher's standards on a Department of Education approved aural and oral
language proficiency test or scores below the English proficient level on a
Department of Education approved assessment in listening and speaking, shall be
classified as an English Language Learner and shall be provided appropriate
services. Assessment of each student's aural and oral proficiency or listening
and speaking should be completed as soon as possible after the student's
initial enrollment but not later than twenty (20) school days after the
student's enrollment.
Prospective kindergarten students may be assessed prior to enrollment during a kindergarten roundup evaluation so long as the assessment is given no earlier than May 1 of the calendar year the student will enroll.
2. Any student in
grade 3 or above, who scores at or below 32nd percentile on reading
comprehension and writing or language usage subtests of a nationally norm
referenced test or scores below the English proficient level on a Department of
Education approved assessment in reading and writing shall be classified as an
English Language Learner and provided appropriate services. The assessment in
reading and writing shall be completed as soon as possible after initial
enrollment, but not later than thirty (30) days after enrollment.
3. Upon request of a parent or teacher, a
student who is determined not to be an English Language Learner or any student
determined to be an English Language Learner based solely on one reading or
writing assessment may be referred to an ELL Committee. The parents' preference
as to whether a student is determined to be an ELL or not to be an ELL shall be
considered in the final decision. The ELL Committee may determine a student to
be an English Language Learner or not to be an English Language Learner
according to consideration of at least two (2) of the following criteria in
addition to the test results from subparagraphs (2)(a)1. or 2. of this rule:
a. Extent and nature of prior educational or
academic experience, social experience, and a student interview,
b. Written recommendation and observation by
current and previous instructional and supportive services staff,
c. Level of mastery of basic competencies or
skills in English and heritage language according to local, state or national
criterion-referenced standards,
d.
Grades from the current or previous years, or
e. Test results other than subparagraph
(2)(a)1. or 2. of this rule.
(b) Any determinations by the ELL Committee
shall be contained in a written evaluation with a narrative description of the
basis for the decision, which shall be placed in the ELL Student Plan. Such
evaluations shall further set forth a plan, which will be implemented, to
address the student's English language needs. The basis and nature of the ELL
Committee's recommendations shall be documented and maintained in the student's
file.
(c) An ELL Committee, after
notification to the parent of the opportunity to participate in the meeting,
shall conduct assessments referred to in subsections (2) and (3) of this rule
and recommend an ELL Student Plan for such student.
(d) An eligible student shall be reported for
ESOL funding as specified in Section
1011.62, F.S.
(e) Notice. Each school or school district
shall provide notice to parents of an ELL identified for participation or
participating in a language instruction educational program, within thirty (30)
days after the beginning of the school year or, for students who were not
identified prior to the beginning of the school year, but were identified
during the school year, within the first two (2) weeks of the student being
placed in a language instruction educational program. The notice shall inform
the parent of the following:
1. The reasons
for the identification of their child as an ELL and the need for the child's
placement in a language instruction educational program,
2. The child's level of English proficiency,
how such level was assessed, and the status of the child's academic
achievement,
3. The methods of
instruction used in the program in which their child is, or will be,
participating and the methods of instruction used in other available programs,
including how such programs differ in content, instructional goals, and the use
of English and a native language in instruction,
4. How the program in which their child is,
or will be, participating will meet the educational strengths and needs of
their child,
5. How such program
will specifically help their child learn English and meet age-appropriate
academic achievement standards for grade promotion and graduation,
6. The specific exit requirements for the
program, including the expected rate of transition from such program into
classrooms that are not tailored for ELLs, and the expected rate of graduation
from high school (for students in high schools),
7. In the case of a student with a
disability, how such program meets the objectives of the individualized
education program of the student; and,
8. Information pertaining to parental rights
that includes written guidance -
a. Detailing
the right that parents have to have their child immediately removed from such
program upon their request,
b.
Detailing the options that parents have to decline to enroll their child in
such program or to choose another program or method of instruction, if
available; and,
c. Assisting
parents in selecting among various programs and methods of instruction, if more
than one program or method is offered.
(3) Programmatic Assessment.
(a) Each student determined to be an ELL
shall be further assessed in academic areas so as to aid the student's teacher
in developing an appropriate instructional program.
(b) Each school district shall seek to
document the prior schooling experience of ELLs by means of school records,
transcripts and other evidence of educational experiences, and take such
experiences into account in planning and providing appropriate instruction to
such students. The school district shall award equal credit for courses taken
in another country or a language other than English as they would the same
courses taken in the United States or taken in English. For foreign-born
students, the same district adopted policies regarding age appropriate
placement shall be followed as are followed for students born in the United
States. Should a school district use a placement test for determining
appropriate grade or course placement, such assessment may not be based in
whole or in part on the student's English language proficiency. Students
classified as ELLs shall be placed in the appropriate English for Speakers of
Other Language or Language Arts through ESOL course and core subject area
courses based on their assigned grade level.
(c) Any teacher, administrator, parent or
parent's designee may request the convening of an ELL Committee to review the
student's progress in attaining necessary subject area competencies or in
overcoming persistent deficiencies in overall student performance. The ELL
Committee may be reconvened at any time after a student has been served for a
semester. The ELL Committee shall make recommendations for appropriate
modifications in the student's programming to address problems identified and
shall document such modifications in the student's ELL Student Plan.
(d) Parents have the right to have their
child immediately removed from a language instruction educational program and
to decline to enroll the student in such a program or choose other
instructional options, if available. For purposes of this subparagraph, a
"language instruction educational program" means an instruction course in which
an ELL is placed for the purpose of developing and attaining English
proficiency and which may make instructional use of both English and a child's
heritage language. Nothing herein shall alter the duty of the district to
provide qualified, duly certified or endorsed ESOL instructors in accordance
with Rule 6A-1.09441, F.A.C., and the
Course Code Directory and Instructional Personnel Assignments that is
incorporated by reference therein. If any parent or guardian of an ELL
communicates a refusal to have his or her child enrolled in an ELL program, the
District shall have the student's principal or another representative of the
school meet with the parent to:
1. Describe
the range of programs and services that the child could receive if the parent
does not refuse, including the methodology the District plans to employ to
address the student's educational needs and the training and qualifications of
teachers and any others who would be employed in teaching the
student,
2. Discuss the benefits
their child is likely to gain by being enrolled in an ELL program and receiving
ELL services; and,
3. Explain
that, notwithstanding any past practice, the District shall not require
students to be assigned to programs specifically designated for ELLs, or
schools containing such programs, in order to receive ELL
services.
Rulemaking Authority 1001.02, 1003.56 FS. Law Implemented 1003.56, 1011.62 FS.
New 10-30-90, Amended 5-19-08, 10-26-11, 5-30-17.
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