Augusta School Department

 LAU Plan

             This is the Augusta School District’s policy with regard to students it enrolls whose first language is not English.  Such policy, approved by the Augusta Board of Education, is the district’s vehicle for implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act or any other relevant legislation.

             Students of Limited English Proficiency (LEP) have many barriers to overcome in attaining full educational participation.  This document outlines services of the Augusta Public Schools for students who face this barrier.  This plan for services to students whose first language is not English has its origin in several pieces of legislation and court decisions.  Title VI of Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the basis for many decisions.  Title VI declared:                 

                        “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or

                        national origin, be excluded from participation, be denied the benefits of,

                        or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity receiving

                        federal financial assistance.” 

            In 1974 Lau v. Nichols established two significant legal points.  Equality of educational opportunity does not mean providing all students with the same facilities, textbooks, teachers and curriculum; students who do not understand English are still unable to participate in meaningful education. The second point of Lau v. Nichols is that discrimination that has a direct effect, even though there was no purposeful design, is still considered discrimination. 

            Following the Lau decision, the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974, reinforced the decision in laws.  The “Lau Remedies” were formulated and used by the Office of Civil Rights to determine compliance by education agencies.  The “Lau Remedies”, Serna v Portales, Clintron v. Brentwood and Rios v. Reed, require a school district to:

• Identify and assess the language ability of the student;
• Identify the nature and extent of the student’s educational needs and utilize the most effective teaching style to meet those needs;
• Implement the type of educational programs dependent upon the degree of linguistic proficiency of the students in question;
• train teachers who serve LEP students;
• not isolate children into racially or ethnically-identified classes;
• establish multi-criteria and procedures for exiting students.

            In Castaneda v. Pickard (1981), the Court of Appeals formulated a three-part test to measure compliance to Equal Educational Opportunities Act.  The first part demands that the school system pursue a program of informed educational theory recognized as sound by some experts.  Skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing are necessary for learning and achieving in the English only instruction class.  The second test is in the realm of practice.  Programs and practices must be reasonably calculated to implement effectively educational theory.  The third part is the results.  The program must succeed to produce results that language barriers are indeed being overcome. 

            Keyes v School District Number 1, (1983) and Gomez v. Illinois (1987) require that the states as well as local education agencies ensure that the needs of Limited English Proficient students are met.  Language disadvantaged children must be assisted to participate in public education so that they are prepared to enter the mainstream of social, economic and political systems.  The benefits to the community are self-evident.

            It is with these legal precedents in mind that the following plan for students demonstrating limited proficiency in the English language is formulated.  This plan will be known as the “Lau Plan” and states identification, assessment, programmatic and evaluation policies and procedures.

            It is the policy of the School Board to comply with all Administrative Letters disseminated by the Commissioner of Education detailing statutory requirements for equal education access for LEP students. 

            The ESL Advisory Committee was established in 1982 to facilitate communication between the Augusta School Department and interested members of the community.  It is agreed that the Committee will continue to be convened by the superintendent or a designate no fewer than six times during the school year. A chairperson will be selected from the body annually, to be responsible for the meeting agenda and for maintaining a list of current members. 

            In addition to ESL program staff members, it is the intent to involve representatives of each of the following groups on the Advisory Committee:  the school department, the Board of Education, administrative staff of the three ESL schools (Farrington, Hodgkins, and Cony), adult education, refugee/immigrant population (parents and former students), Head Start, the State Department of Education/State Refugee Advisory Council, Public Health Nursing, and sponsors.  Other participants may be invited to make presentations or become members with the agreement of the Committee. 

            GOAL:  To facilitate provision of a high level of instruction and support for students in grades Kindergarten through 12 for whom English is a second language, in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. 

            In order to meet this goal, the Advisory Committee will undertake to do the following:           

• Monitor compliance with the current LAU plan as adopted by the Board of Education.
• Encourage all LEP students to enroll at the three schools with an ESL program (Farrington: K-6; Hodgkins: 7-8; Cony: 9-12, by ensuring that school administrators and parents are fully informed of the opportunity and the advantages.
• Work with Head Start (and any other pre-school program) regarding screening and kindergarten placement.
• Encourage LEP student and family participation in school programs, sports and other activities and opportunities.
• Cooperate with other community agencies that are providing support or services for the LEP family population.
• Advocate for the ESL program on a local and state level as appropriate, in cooperation with the Augusta School Department.
• Review enrollment and program services on at least an annual basis, and receive regular reports from ESL staff members regarding concerns and needs.

            A Language Assessment Committee (LAC) is maintained at the district level.  The Language Assessment Committee meetings will be convened by an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher. 

            Each student has an overnight LAC made up of ESL teacher, classroom teacher(s), student, guidance person, building administrator, parent(s), and an interpreter (when needed). 

            The Language Assessment Committee has the responsibilities of overseeing the following:

• Identification of students from referrals from parents, teachers, and community.    Identification of students from questions regarding home language on the Augusta Registration form and from the Home Language surveys.
• The school LAC will identify modifications needed for each student and assigned copy of those modifications will be given to the teachers and kept in the permanent record.
• Administration of multi-criteria evaluation after notifying parents (in native language if possible) of date and nature of English language proficiency testing.
• Creation and maintenance of a record-keeping system for language assessments for each student identified as a potential ESL student.
• Determination of grade level placement and appropriate ELS programming or related services.   Decisions will include length of time, time of day, and type of service.
• Determination of reclassification of student language skills according to level of English Language proficiency.
• Meeting at least annually to monitor student’s language and academic progress.
• When students reach level 6, they may be classified as fluent English proficient Monitor 1, followed by FEP monitor 2.
• Students may be re-identified as LEP students if the criteria is no longer met.

Students are identified as Limited English Proficient students through an appropriate balance of the following:

• Parent/student interviews
• School records
• Teacher referrals
• Standardized testing
• Teacher-developed instruments
• Federal and district home language surveys

            The identification process will take place quickly with special regard to students entering the United States with tremendous personal upheaval.

            Records generated from Language Assessment Committee meetings and testing will receive ESL teachers; copies of other pertinent information will be placed in the student’s permanent record. Individual student LAC plans will be placed in the student’s permanent file. 

            All identified students who are limited in their English speaking, reading, or writing will receive ESL services in terms of amount of service, type of program, and appropriate instructional strategies.  It is basic to second language acquisition that students be proficient in all communication skill areas, including speaking, listening, reading and writing.  Content-area reading is a very difficult skill for a second language speaker even if that student appears fluent in English. 

            Collaboration will take place among ESL and regular classroom teachers consistent with Maine’s Learning Results.  Alignment of the standards developed by TESOL to the Learning Results is critical to that process.

           Exit decisions of students from ESL program will be based on multi-criteria assessments.  Students must meet the standard on the MEA.  Read and write at or above grade level using the following criteria: reading instruction at or above grade level, mastery on LAS, ability to achieve C or better in content area subjects, and healthy cultural adjustment.  Exit from ESL programming will occur when the student is able to competently perform in a regular setting. 

            The Language Assessment Committee will inform the parents or guardian of any changes in exit reclassification and of their right to challenge the reclassification.  This information will be given in a language that the parents or guardians can understand.  Following a new instructional placement, the Language Assessment Committee will review the student’s academic achievement and psycho-social adjustment. 

            The ESL program will utilize open communication with the community it serves through communication with parents and through the ESL Advisory Committee in order to annually review the ESL services provided.  ESL staff would consult with the ESL Advisory Committee for advice and review recommendations, as appropriate.