The District will take steps to identify English Language Learners (“ELL”) students and provide ELL students with an appropriate program of either Bilingual Education or English as a New Language, in accordance with the Commissioner’s Regulations.
Pursuant to this policy and the regulations of the Commissioner of Education, the Superintendent is directed to develop appropriate administrative regulations to ensure that students are:
screened to determine if the student is an ELL, in accordance with Parts 117 and 154 of the Commissioner's Regulations, a process that will include interviews and assessments and will assign each ELL student to the appropriate level;
identified, as appropriate, as an ELL student with a disability;
annually evaluated to determine continued ELL eligibility. Included in the evaluation will be each student's performance in English language proficiency and academic progress in content areas;
assured of access to appropriate instructional and support services, including guidance programs within the timeframes provided by Commissioner’s Regulations; and
assured of having equal opportunities to participate in all school programs and extracurricular activities as non-ELL students.
The Superintendent will be responsible for ensuring that the Commissioner of Education is provided with a comprehensive plan that describes the District’s ELL program and includes all information specified in the Commissioner's Regulations, before the start of each school year. The District will also provide assurances that the District is providing appropriate school-related information to the parents (or persons in parental relation) of ELL students in English and the language they best understand.
The District will provide an orientation program annually for parents of newly enrolled ELL students. In addition, the District will meet individually with ELL parents at least once a year to discuss the goals of the ELL program and their child’s language development (in both their native language and English), in addition to regular parent/teacher meetings.
In addition, the Superintendent will ensure that all teachers employed in any Bilingual and/or English as a New Language program are properly certified in accordance with the Commissioner's Regulations, and that all staff receive appropriate professional development on ELL students.
Cross-ref: 4321, Programs for Students with Disabilities Under IDEA and New York’s Education Law Article 89
Ref: Education Law §3204
English Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act, 20 USC §§6801 et seq.
Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974, §§201 et seq., 20 U.S.C. §§1701 et seq.
8 NYCRR §§80-2.9; 80-2.10; 117; Part 154
Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563 (1974)
Rios v. Read, 480 F. Supp. 14 (1978)
Cintron v. Brentwood UFSD, 455 F. Supp 57 (1978)
Aspira of New York v. Board of Educ. (City of New York), 394 F. Supp. 1161 (1975)
Adoption date: January 9, 2017
Amended date: May 12, 2025