Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
All English language learners shall be entitled to
receive services in accordance with subdivisions 2 and 2-a of section
3204 of the
Education Law.
(a) Each school
district receiving total foundation aid, including each community school
district of the City of New York, shall develop a comprehensive plan to meet
the educational needs of students who are English language learners. Such plan
shall be kept on file in the district and made available for department review
upon request of the department. The plan shall include:
(1) the district's philosophy for the
education of such students;
(2)
administrative practices and procedures to:
(i) diagnostically screen students who are
English language learners pursuant to Part 117 of this Title;
(ii) identify such students who are English
language learners;
(iii) annually
evaluate each such student including each such student's performance in content
areas to measure the student's academic progress;
(3) a description of the nature and scope of
the bilingual and/or English as a second language instructional program and
services available to students who are English language learners;
(4) a description of the criteria used by the
district to place students who are English language learners in appropriate
bilingual or free-standing English as a second language programs;
(5) a description by building of the
curricular and extracurricular services provided to students who are English
language learners;
(6) a
description of the district and school level procedures for the management of
the program, including staffing, site selection, parental notification,
coordination of funds, training and program planning.
(b) School related information shall be
distributed to parents or other persons in parental relationship to students
who are English language learners or when necessary the language they
understand.
(c) The school district
shall submit to the commissioner the results of the annual evaluation of
students who are English language learners, including test data and any
additional data required by the commissioner, in the format and timeframe
specified by the commissioner.
(d)
The school district shall ensure that the provisions of section
3204 of the
Education Law with respect to the instruction of students who are English
language learners are adhered to.
(e) The school district shall refer students
who are English language learners and who are suspected of having a disability
to the committee on special education in accordance with Part 200 of this Title
and assure that a bilingual multidisciplinary assessment is conducted in
accordance with section
200.4(b) of this
Title before the committee identifies students with English language learners
as having a disability.
(f) The
school district shall submit to the commissioner the following documents in a
form and by a date specified by the commissioner:
(1) an assurance:
(i) of access to appropriate instructional
and support services for such students, including guidance programs pursuant to
section 100.20(j) of this
Title;
(ii) that each such student
has equal opportunities to participate in all school programs and
extracurricular activities as non-English language learners;
(iii) that the minimum ESL and ELA
requirements prescribed in section
154-1.2(d) of this
Subpart for the freestanding ESL programs are adhered to;
(iv) that the minimum ESL, ELA and NLA
requirements prescribed in section
154-1.2(e) of this
Subpart for bilingual education programs are adhered to;
(v) that teachers in the district's
free-standing ESL and bilingual education programs are appropriately certified
pursuant to Part 80 of this Title;
(vi) that the district will comply with the
requirements of this Subpart and the provisions of the Education Law governing
programs for English language learners;
(vii) that programs for English language
learners will be administered in accordance with applicable Federal and State
law and regulations and the district's comprehensive plan;
(2) a report by building of the number of
students identified as English language learners in the preceding year,
including their grade level, native language and instructional
program;
(3) a report by building
of the number of students who are English language learners served in the
preceding year, including their grade level, native language and instructional
program;
(4) a report by building
of the number of students that took the NYSESLAT in the preceding school
year;
(5) a report by building of
the number and qualifications of teachers and support personnel providing
services to English language learners;
(6) a fiscal report containing such data
concerning the preceding school year as may be required by the commissioner;
and
(7) beginning in July 2008 and
annually thereafter until the 2015-2016 school year, a report on the
expenditure of State, local and Federal funds in the prior year on programs,
activities and services for pupils with limited English proficiency.
(g)
Types of
programs.
(1) Bilingual education
program. Each school district which has an enrollment of 20 or more students
who are English language learners of the same grade level assigned to a
building, all of whom have the same native language which is other than
English, shall provide such students with bilingual education
programs.
(2) Free-standing English
as a second language program. Each school district which has students who are
English language learners of the same grade level assigned to a building, but
which does not have 20 of such students with the same native language which is
other than English, shall provide either a free-standing English as a second
language program, or a bilingual education program to such students.
(h)
Support services.
Each school district with students who are English
language learners participating in bilingual or free-standing English as a
second language programs shall provide appropriate support services needed by
such students to achieve and maintain a satisfactory level of academic
performance. Such services may include, but need not be limited to, individual
counseling, group counseling, home visits, and parental counseling. Where
appropriate, such services shall be provided in the first language of the
student and the student's parents or other persons in parental relation to the
student.
(i)
Transitional services.
Each school district shall ensure a transition for former
English language learner students transferring from a bilingual or
free-standing English as a second language program into an English mainstream
program. Transitional services shall be provided for the first year after the
student is placed in the English mainstream instructional
program.
(j)
In-service training.
Each school district with English language learner
students shall provide in-service training to all personnel providing
instruction or other services to such students in order to enhance their
appreciation for the student's native languages and cultures and their ability
to provide appropriate instructional and support services.
(k)
Parental notification.
(1) The parents or other persons in a
parental relation to a student identified as an English language learner shall
be notified, in English and the language they understand, of their child's
placement in an instructional bilingual or free-standing English as a second
language program and their options as set forth in paragraphs (2) and (3) of
this subdivision. School districts offering programs to students who are
English language learners shall make an effort to meet with the parents or
other persons in parental relation to such students, at least twice a year, to
help them understand the goals of the program and how they might help their
children.
(2) The parents or other
persons in parental relation to a student designated as limited English
proficient shall have the option to withdraw their child only from
participation in an instructional bilingual education program, provided that:
(i) the parents or other persons in parental
relation to a student identified as an English language learner meet with the
school principal along with the school or district supervisor of bilingual
education to discuss and explain further the nature, purposes, educational
values of the program and the skills required of personnel;
(ii) as a minimum such student shall
participate in a free-standing English as a second language program.
(3) In a school building where the
number of eligible students does not require the offering of a bilingual
education program, parents or other persons in parental relation to a student
identified as an English language learner shall have the option of transferring
their child to a school within the district provided such program is available
at such other school. A parent who chooses not to exercise the transfer option
shall be informed that his or her child shall participate in a free-standing
English as a second language program.
(4) Parents or other persons in parental
relation to a student identified as an English language learner who is a new
entrant, as defined in section
117.2(d) of this
Title, shall be provided an orientation session on the State standards,
assessments, school expectations and general program requirements for the
bilingual education program and the free-standing English as a second language
program. Such orientation shall take place within the first semester of their
child's enrollment in the school and, when needed, shall be provided in the
first language of the pupil's parents or other persons in parental relation to
the student.
(l) A
student whose score on the LAB-R prior to February 1, 2014, or on the NYSITELL
commencing February 1, 2014 and thereafter, or on the NYSESLAT, as specified in
section 154-1.2(a), (b) and
(c) of this Subpart, is a result of a
disability shall be provided special education programs and services in
accordance with the individualized education program (IEP) developed for such
student pursuant to Part 200 of this Title, and shall also be eligible for
services pursuant to this Subpart when such services are recommended in the
IEP. A student with a disability receiving services in accordance with the
provisions of this section shall be counted as an English language learner, as
well as a student with a disability, for purposes of calculating State aid
pursuant to section
3602 of the
Education Law.
