Monitoring

Paragraph 31: FLEPs are flagged on teacher rosters and academic progress is to be monitored.

Students designated as FLEPs shall be listed on the ELD tab on the District’s intranet portal and flagged as FLEPs on teachers’ class rosters. Consistent with the District’s exiting protocols, the LATs at the individual schools and the OELL shall monitor the academic progress of such students after every marking period for two years to determine if they require any ELL services. Consistent with the District’s reentry protocols, any newly identified FLEP student who fails to make adequate academic progress, as measured by valid and reliable indicators, including, but not limited to, grades, assessments, and standardized tests, during their monitoring period shall be provided appropriate ELL services that adequately address the student’s academic needs. As of the start of the 2012-2013 school year, the OELL shall track and monitor school-level reports to ensure that FLEP students are appropriately monitored by school staff and that appropriate interventions and services are put in place for FLEP students who are not making adequate academic progress. The District shall provide to the United States by January 15 and August 1 of each year a list of FLEP students, disaggregated by school, who were identified as requiring additional academic or ELL services.

Paragraph 35: Services that are to be provided in the event the parent opts out of services.

Consistent with the parent refusal procedures provided to the United States on July 7, 2010, the District also shall do the following if any parent/guardian of an ELL refuses in writing to have his/her child receive ELL services:

  1. Provide the student core content instruction, including language arts, from teachers who are certified to teach appropriate elementary grade level or secondary subject matter and have completed at least Categories 1, 2, and 4 training;
  2. Provide the student’s core content teachers with a class roster identifying the student’s English proficiency level and his/her refusal status;
  3. Provide the student’s academic teachers with training to support the student’s English language and subject matter learning needs;
  4. Routinely monitor the academic progress of the student, which shall include at least two reviews of the student’s academic performance by the OELL each semester; and
  5. Meet with the student’s parent/guardian if the student is not progressing to recommend ELL services.

Paragraph 94: Before the end of each school year, the District shall conduct at least one on site visit at each school whose revised plan was not approved by January 30th, pursuant to paragraph 58.

Before the end of each school year, beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the District shall conduct at least one on-site visit at each school whose revised plan was not approved by OELL by January 30 of each year pursuant to Paragraph 58. The District shall monitor each such school’s implementation of this Agreement and shall provide a written report of each visit and any further actions taken by the school to the United States on March 31 and August 1 of each year.

Paragraph 96: The District is charged with conducting a longitudinal study comparing the progress between ELLs versus non-ELLs and ELLs in programs versus ELLs in general education, FLEPs, students grouped with ELD levels 1-3 for ESL instruction, and follow the development of a cohort of students.

BPS shall evaluate the effectiveness of its ELL program to determine whether its language services are overcoming language barriers within a reasonable period of time and enabling students to participate meaningfully and equally in educational programs.

  1. To measure program effectiveness, at a minimum BPS shall disaggregate English proficiency assessments results, standardized test scores (including Title I content assessments), retention-in-grade rates, graduation rates, and enrollment in special education, enrichment, gifted and talented, and other advanced learning programs (e.g., Advanced Placement, honors, AWC and AVID) by school and specific language program (e.g., language-specific, multi-lingual, mixed ELL and non-ELL, general education, dual language, bilingual, HILT for SIFE, etc.) to:
  2. Evaluate the progress and achievement of ELLs overall and by specific language program over time (i.e., as they progress through ELD levels to FLEP status) through the District Analysis and Review Tool (“DART”) for English Learners and other measuring tools, such as but not limited to ESL grades; MEPA, ACCESS, or equivalent assessment; and MCAS or equivalent assessment;
  3. Monitor the academic performance and participation of former ELLs in BPS’s educational
  4. programs relative to their native-English speaking/never-ELL peers over time from the point of exit from ELL services and at least three years thereafter, through use of the DART for English Learners and other appropriate measuring tools;
  5. Monitor the academic performance and progress in language acquisition of ELD level 3 students grouped for ESL with ELD level 1 and level 2 students; and
  6. Analyze longitudinally a cohort of students by school and Program to assess whether students enrolled in each Program model are overcoming language barriers within a reasonable period of time and participating meaningfully and equally in educational programs relative to their native-English-speaking/never-ELL peers.
  7. The District shall complete its longitudinal study by the end of the 2014-15 school year and provide the results of that study to the United States by August 1, 2015.
  8. BPS shall use the results of current and future longitudinal studies to inform ELL program decisions and improve the effectiveness of ELL programs. BPS shall notify the United States in writing annually by August 1 of all proposed substantive changes to its ELL programs, including those based on the results of the longitudinal study. If the United States objects to the proposed changes on the grounds that they do not meet the terms of this Agreement, the EEOA, or Title VI, it shall notify BPS in writing. If the parties are unable to resolve the objections within 60 days of the written notice, the United States and/or private plaintiffs may pursue relief under the enforcement provisions in Paragraph 107.