Paragraph 36. The District shall provide ELL services consisting of ESL and SEI core content instruction at all schools enrolling ELLs without regard to whether the school was historically a high incidence program school or a low incidence non-program school, except at those schools where all of the ELLs satisfy the District and State criteria for a two-way, bilingual, or alternative English language education program. Toward that end, the District shall not, due to a student’s ELL status or national origin, or because an ELL’s school of choice lacks space in an ELL program or programs, deny any ELL (a) access to the full range of school placement options available to non-ELLs, or (b) the ELL services required by Paragraphs 36-39 and 41-42. The District shall ensure that ELLs and their parents/guardians are not forced to choose between schools they desire and the receipt of the services required by Paragraphs 36-39 and 41-42.

Paragraph 37. The District shall ensure that all ELLs at all schools are integrated with non-ELLs for recess, art, music, gym, lunch, and library and are not unnecessarily segregated from non-ELLs in other classes given their ELD levels and the nature of their ELL services. The District shall ensure that ELLs are integrated, to the extent practicable, with general education students in school functions, co-curricular activities, and extracurricular activities.

Paragraph 38. The District shall provide all ELLs, including SPED ELLs (subject to the rare and narrow exceptions set forth in Paragraph 67) with at least one class period of ESL instruction unless the ELL’s parent/guardian formally refuses such ELL services in writing as set forth in Paragraph 33.

Paragraph 39. Except as set forth below, ELLs shall be grouped for ESL instruction by their English proficiency level (e.g., ELLs at ELD level 1) either within a single grade or vertically across grades (limited to two consecutive grades at the elementary level). Within a single grade, ELLs may also be grouped horizontally across comparable, consecutive levels of English proficiency (e.g., ELLs at ELD level 1 with ELLs at ELD Level 2). At the elementary level (K2-5), students at ELD level 3 may be grouped within ESL classes with students at ELD levels 1 and 2 only

• a. If there are inadequate numbers of students to serve students at ELD level 3 separately;
• b. If students in the class are at the same grade level;
• c. If OELL has approved a curriculum that accounts for the different amounts of ESL instructional time required by Paragraph 40 for students at ELD level 3 versus ELD levels 1 and 2, and the different language needs of students with ELD level 1, 2, and 3;
• d. Subject to the requirement that no level 3 student be grouped with students at ELD levels 1 and 2 in ESL for longer than one academic year; and
• e. Subject to the requirement that teachers assigned to teach ESL to students at ELD levels 1, 2 and 3 must have received appropriate and sufficient training in the following:
  • i. Differentiating ESL instruction for students at ELD levels 1, 2 and 3; and
  • ii. Lesson planning and structuring instructional time to ensure that the unique needs of students at ELD levels 1, 2, and 3 are met.

This training shall be developed by OELL and presented to the United States for its approval by May 2012. After the 2011-12 academic year, all teachers shall receive this training before being assigned to a class in which students are grouped across ELD levels 1-3.

Paragraph 40. ESL instruction may be provided in: (a) a self-contained class of ELLs; (b) a pull-out setting; or (c) a push-in or co-teaching setting in English language arts (ELA) class, with, at a minimum, weekly common planning time for the ESL and classroom teachers, or an alternative OELL-approved regimen that ensures effective coordination between ESL and classroom teachers.

Paragraph 41. Consistent with MADESE’s and the District’s guidance, the District shall provide, to the extent practicable, ESL instruction:

• a. For 2.5 hours per day to all ELLs who are at ELD levels 1 and 2 and whose parent/guardian has not refused ESL services. One hour per day of the 2.5 hours of ESL may consist of content-based ESL from an ESL certified teacher who is also certified in a content area or from a team-taught content class by an ESL certified teacher and content certified teacher, if OELL approves the specific delivery model;
• b. For 1 hour per day to all ELLs who are at ELD level 3 and whose parent/guardian has not refused ESL services; and
• c. For 2.5 hours per week to all ELLs who are at ELD levels 4 and 5 and whose parent/guardian has not refused ESL services. The 2.5 hours of ESL may be embedded into the ELA/literacy or writing block if the OELL approves this or another school-proposed alternative delivery model (e.g., a high school creative writing class taught by an ESL certified teacher).

Paragraph 42. Secondary schools shall offer: (i) an ESL 1 class for ELD level 1 ELLs; (ii) an ESL 2 class for ELD level 2 ELLs; (iii) an ESL 3 class for ELD level 3 ELLs; and (iv) an ESL 4 or grade-appropriate ELA class enrolling only ELLs or a mix of non-ELLs and ELLs taught by an ESL certified teacher for ELD level 4 and 5 ELLs. ELLs shall not be required to repeat an ESL 1, 2, 3, or 4 class if they were enrolled in such class the prior year and their proficiency level improved by one or more levels during the year.

Paragraph 43. By April 30, 2012, the OELL shall develop instructional models and classroom observation tools for utilized modes of ESL instruction, including push-in, co-teaching, and embedded ESL instruction. The District shall disseminate information on these models and require professional development training on these instructional models for all teachers providing instruction through these models, as well as any employees (e.g., LAT facilitators and principals) who evaluate teachers who use these models.

Paragraph 44. The District shall ensure that all ELLs are enrolled in SEI classes for all core content classes where instruction is primarily in English, and that teachers use best practices for teaching ELLs and making lessons understandable (such as, for example, cooperative learning, group work, visual displays, primary language support, and clarification). The District shall ensure that ELLs in each school, educational program, grade-level, and English proficiency level receive core content instruction designed to enable them to perform at grade-level, be on track to graduate from high school, and be prepared to enroll in college. Toward these ends, the District shall ensure that SEI teachers: (a) blend academic language instruction with relevant content instruction; (b) use authentic materials and appropriate supplemental materials to support the content objectives and contextualize learning; (c) explicitly teach academic language relevant to the subject matter; (d) deconstruct complex sentences in order to emphasize how words, phrases, and expressions relate to meaning; (e) afford ELLs regular opportunities to practice and apply new academic language and content knowledge in English; (f) explain academic tasks clearly to ELLs; (g) incorporate effective reading strategies for ELLs, (e.g., partner reading, reading aloud, and teacher think-alouds); (h) teach reading comprehension skills (e.g., prediction, summarizing, making inferences, and identifying important information); and (i) teach ELLs at different proficiency and grade levels how to write in the content area.

Paragraph 45. In each school enrolling ELLs, the District shall ensure that all ELLs receive SEI content instruction with ESL certified teachers or certified teachers with training in Categories 1, 2, and 4. Toward that end, in schools with language-specific SEI strands, if any SEI content class in the language-specific strand has an ESL certified teacher or a certified teacher trained in Categories 1, 2, and 4, and has fewer than 20 students, the District shall ensure that:

• a. The principal shall assign to said language-specific SEI class any ELLs with ELD levels 1-3 whose native language is the language of the language-specific strand and who would otherwise be assigned to an SEI content class with (i) a class size higher than 20 students, provided the class size difference between the SEI content class and said language-specific SEI class is three or more students, or (ii) a teacher who is not ESL certified or not yet trained in Categories 1, 2, and 4.
• b. For ELLs with ELD levels 1-3 whose native language is not the language of the language-specific strand and who would otherwise be assigned to an SEI content class with: (i) a class size higher than 20 students, provided the class size difference between the SEI content class and said language-specific SEI class is three or more students; or (ii) a teacher who is not ESL certified or not yet trained in Categories 1, 2, and 4; the principal shall assign those students to said language-specific SEI class only if, within a reasonable period of time, all of the feasible alternatives set forth in this Agreement for providing the SEI content instruction have been exhausted. The alternatives, which shall be attempted as expeditiously as possible and, where appropriate, concurrently, may include: (i) reassigning, consistent with Paragraphs 46, 49, and 52(g), ESL or Category trained school staff who are not currently engaged in teaching ELLs to SEI content and/or ESL classes: (ii) consistent with Paragraph 52, soliciting voluntary teacher transfers from other schools, reviewing school preference forms, and addressing class size issues through the annual September adjustment process; (iii) hiring additional ESL certified or SEI trained staff; or (iv) making other staffing adjustments. No transfer of an ELL into a language-specific SEI class that is not the ELL’s language shall occur without the approval of the OELL, which shall approve the transfer if the OELL determines that the alternatives enumerated above have been exhausted within a reasonable period of time.
• c. The requirements set forth in this Paragraph shall operate until the language-specific SEI class has 20 students. The District shall not assign ELLs to any ESL or SEI content class in a manner that privileges any particular national origin(s) over others with respect to class size or teacher ratio.