Getting precise about ELLs and federal law

The Obama administration has released guidelines highlighting the civil rights of students learning English as a second language (ELLs), who under federal law are guaranteed targeted help and a high-quality public education, reports Emma Brown for The Washington Post. Five million English-language learners attend schools in the U.S., nine percent of all public school students. This number is increasing, along with civil rights complaints: National data show a persistent achievement gap between native English speakers and ELLs. The administration's open letter comes amid public debate around responsibility to serve the thousands of unaccompanied and undocumented minors that cross the border each year. It also follows President Obama's executive action to allow nearly five million undocumented immigrants to remain in the country. Some ELLs are immigrants; others are children of immigrants. The new guidance is the first in 24 years to address rights of ELLs and comes 40 years after the Supreme Court ruled schools must provide targeted help. It does not establish new policy, but lays out in one place the many obligations schools have under federal law, particularly the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974. Among these requirements: language programs led by qualified teachers, integration as much as possible into mainstream classrooms, and communication with parents in a language they understand. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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