Diversity in Schools 1

In terms of diversity curriculum, I am going to focus on bilingual education and ESL.
According to Title III requirements, any district that receives funds under Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act shall comply with the statutory requirements regarding limited English proficient and immigrant students. It is the policy of the state that every student who has a home language other than English and who is identified as an English language learner will be provided a full opportunity to participate in a bilingual education or English as a second language (ESL) program. “Student of limited English proficiency (LEP)” means a student whose primary language is other than English and whose English language skills are such that the student has difficulty performing ordinary classwork in English. “English language learner” is a person who is in the process of acquiring English and has another language as the first native language.

I learned that it is the responsibility of my district to: identify English language learners based on criteria established by the state; provide bilingual education and ESL programs as integral parts of the regular program; seek certified teaching personnel to ensure that English language learners are afforded full opportunity to master the essential knowledge and skills; and assess achievement for essential knowledge and skills in accordance with Education Code Chapter 39 to ensure accountability for English language learners and the schools that serve them. According to Education Code 9.053(b), within the first four weeks of the first day of school, the language proficiency assessment committee (LPAC) needs to determine and report to the Board the number of LEP students on each campus and shall classify each student according to the language in which the student possesses primary proficiency. The Board will then report that information to TEA before November 1 each year. Also, within four

Diversity in Schools 2 weeks of each student’s enrollment, the district conducts a home language survey to determine the language normally used in the home and the language normally used by the student. The home language survey is conducted in English and in the home language, and signed by the student’s parents if the student is in prekindergarten through grade 8, or by the student if the student is in grades 9 through 12. The original copy of the survey