0.7 Gallegos, c., & Wise, d. (september 2011). leadership for  (Page 2/18)

The problem

The number of English learners is rapidly increasing in public schools across the nation. California has the largest percentage of English learners of any state (American Institutes for Research, 2006; Gándara, Rumberger, Maxwell-Jolly&Callahan, 2003; Lachat, 2004; National Center, 2004; Tasci, 2009). Even though these students speak a language at home that is other than English, at least half of them are actually born in the United States (Lachat, 2004). With the increasing accountability demands of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the growing English learner population, there is significant pressure for educational leaders and teachers to find ways to effectively meet the unique needs of this diverse population and to help them achieve at the same levels as other students. Federal accountability for the English learner group includes level of academic achievement, growth in English language fluency, and the percentage of students reclassified as proficient in English. While achievement and language fluency are measured with standardized tests, reclassification is a more subjective process that takes those standardized measures into account but also includes teacher and administrator input. Does this subjectivity create a situation that allows ELs to be reclassified as English proficient and thereby deny them the very services needed to ensure that the achievement gap is closed? These are the issues faced by teachers and leaders in today’s schools.

Historical context

As early as the 1960s, the question of how best to meet the needs of English learners was a focus of controversy. In addition to evidence from research studies, several pieces of legislation paved the way for bilingual education. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in programs that were federally funded. The Act stated that students had the right to meaningful and effective instruction. This Act was followed by the Bilingual Education Acts of 1968 and 1974. Under these acts (Title VII), schools and districts could apply for funds to develop programs designed to meet the specialized needs of the English learners being served (Mora, 2005). The Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1974 also passed and stated that to prevent participation in instruction through language barriers constituted a denial of equal educational opportunity. This gave legislative backing for lawsuits that cited lack of access to a free and appropriate education.

The Lau v. Nichols (1974) decision was used to support the argument for providing bilingual classes where possible. It was followed by passage of the Civil Rights Language Minority Regulations in 1980 that included four basic pieces: the identification of students who could be English learners, assessment of those students to determine language proficiency, the provision of services for qualified students, and criteria for exiting the program once identified (Mora, 2005). An additional element was the requirement that bilingual instruction be delivered by qualified teachers.