New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 8 - EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
Chapter II - Regulations of the Commissioner
Subchapter I - Scholarships and Grants
Part 154 - Services for Pupils with Limited English Proficiency
Subpart 154-2 - Services for English Language Learners for Programs Operated in the 2015-2016 School Year and Thereafter
Section 154-2.2 - Definitions

(a) Annual English language proficiency assessment shall mean the process followed to annually assess the English language proficiency of an English language learner using such assessments as determined by the commissioner. Such assessments shall be among the criteria used to determine if a student continues to be classified as an English language learner.

(b) Bilingual education program shall mean a research-based program comprised of three components:

(c) Continuously enrolled shall mean a student is enrolled from BEDS day to the last day of the annual English language proficiency assessment.

(d) Days shall mean calendar days unless otherwise indicated as school day or business day. School day means any day, including a partial day, that students are in attendance at school for instructional purposes. Business days means Monday through Friday, except for Federal and State holidays (unless holidays are specifically included in the designation of business day).

(e) Developing English language learners shall mean students who have been identified as English language learners under this Part and have received English as a new language (formerly English as a second language) instruction, as a component of their bilingual education or English as a new language program, for a total of four to six continuously enrolled school years in the United States (the 50 states and the District of Columbia).

(f) English language learners shall mean students who, by reason of foreign birth or ancestry, speak or understand a language other than English and speak or understand little or no English, and require support in order to become proficient in English and are identified pursuant to section 154-2.3 of this Subpart; provided, however, that no student shall be served in a bilingual education or English as a new language program pursuant to this Part for a period in excess of three school years from the date of initial enrollment or reentry in a New York State public school unless such period is extended by the commissioner with respect to an individual student in accordance with the provisions of subdivision 2 of section 3204 of the Education Law.

(g) English language learner subpopulations shall mean newcomer, developing, long-term and former English language learners, English language learners with disabilities and students with inconsistent/interrupted formal education as defined in this section.

(h) English as a new language program shall mean a research-based program comprised of two components: a content area instructional component in English (including all core content, i.e., English language arts, math, science, or social studies) with home language supports and appropriate scaffolds, and an English language development component (stand-alone and/or integrated English as a new language).

(i) Former English language learners shall mean students who had been identified as English language learners and subsequently exited from English language learner status pursuant to section 154-2.3(m) of this Subpart.

(j) Home language arts shall mean a unit of study or its equivalent in language arts in the student's home language. Such unit of study shall be aligned to the New York State learning standards for English language arts and literacy and the English language arts curriculum of the school district and shall focus on literacy and language development in the home language.

(k) Home language questionnaire shall mean a survey, as prescribed by the commissioner, administered by qualified personnel to determine if a language other than English is spoken at home.

(l) Initial identification shall mean the process followed pursuant to section 154-2.3 of this Subpart to determine if a student is an English language learner upon the student's enrollment for the first time in the New York State public school system.

(m) Integrated English as a new language shall mean a unit in of study or its equivalent in which students receive core content area (i.e., English language arts, math, science or social studies) and English language development instruction.

(n) Long-term English language learners shall mean students who have been identified as English language learners under this Part and have received English as a new language (formerly English as a second language) instruction, as a component of their bilingual education or English as a new language program, for a total of seven or more continuously enrolled school years in the United States (the 50 states and the District of Columbia).

(o) Newcomer English language learners shall mean students who have been identified as English language learners under this Part and have received English as a new language (formerly English as a second language) instruction, as a component of their bilingual education or English as a new language program, for a total of zero to three continuously enrolled school years in the United States (the 50 states and the District of Columbia).

(p) Personnel qualified to teach Home Language Arts at the elementary (K-6) level shall mean a teacher, certified pursuant to Part 80 of this Title, who holds a teaching certificate with a bilingual education extension in the home language (other than English). Personnel qualified to teach Home Language Arts in grades 7--12 shall mean a teacher, certified pursuant to Part 80 of this Title, who holds a teaching certificate in World Language Other than English.

(q) Personnel qualified to teach integrated English as a new language shall mean a dually certified teacher, certified pursuant to Part 80 of this Title, (i.e., English to speakers of other languages certification and content area certification) or a certified English to speakers of other languages teacher and a certified content area teacher, certified pursuant to Part 80 of this Title, who co-teach a class. In a K-6 bilingual program, as defined in section 154-2.3(h)(3) of this Subpart, personnel qualified to teach integrated English as a new language means a common branch K-6 teacher with a bilingual extension, certified pursuant to Part 80 of this Title.

(r) Personnel qualified to teach stand-alone English as a new language at the elementary level shall mean a English as a second language teacher, certified pursuant to Part 80 of this Title, or, in a K-6 bilingual program, as defined in section 154-2.3(h)(3) of this Subpart, a certified common branch K-6 teacher with a bilingual extension, certified pursuant to Part 80 of this Title. Personnel qualified to teach stand-alone English as a new language in grades 7-12 shall mean a certified teacher of English to speakers of other languages, certified pursuant to Part 80 of this Title.

(s) Proficient student shall mean a student who meets the criteria in section 154-2.3(m) of this Subpart for exiting English language learner status.

(t) Qualified interpreter/translator shall mean a person who is fluent in the language in which he or she is communicating and in English, has a demonstrated ability to employ the mode of interpretation appropriate to the given situation (e.g., simultaneous interpretation for hearings or large-group parent meetings), and has received training in specialized issues such as confidentiality and any applicable technical vocabulary. School staff who meet this criteria, such as a bilingual or English to speakers of other languages teacher, certified pursuant to Part 80 of this Title, may be qualified to serve as an interpreter/translator.

(u) Qualified personnel as referred to in section 154-2.3(a) and (b) of this Subpart shall mean:

(v) Reentry identification shall mean the process followed pursuant to section 154-2.3 of this Subpart to determine if a student is an English language learner who is reenrolling in a New York State public school after not having been enrolled in a New York State public school at any time during the preceding immediate two continuously enrolled school years.

(w) School district shall mean a common, union free, central, central high school, city school district or a charter school implementing the provisions of this Part, provided that, in the case of the city school district of the City of New York, such term shall mean a community school district or New York City superintendency.

(x) Stand-alone English as a new language shall mean a unit of study or its equivalent in which students receive instruction in order to acquire the English language needed for success in core content courses. A student shall not receive Stand-alone English as a new language in lieu of core content area instruction.

(y) Students with Inconsistent/Interrupted Formal Education shall mean English Language Learners who have attended schools in the United States (the 50 States and the District of Columbia) for less than twelve months and who, upon initial enrollment in such schools are two or more years below grade level in literacy in their home language and/or two or more years below grade level in Math due to inconsistent or interrupted schooling prior to arrival in the United States (the 50 States and the District of Columbia). Day(s) during a school closure ordered pursuant to an Executive Order(s) of the Governor pursuant to a State of emergency for the COVID-19 crisis shall not count towards the calculation of less than twelve months of attendance in United States schools prescribed in this subdivision.

(z) Superintendent shall mean the superintendent of a school district, or, in the city school district of the City of New York, the chancellor or his/her designee, or, in the case of a charter school implementing the provisions of this Subpart, such person as designated by the charter school board of trustees, other than the charter school principal.