BILINGUAL PROGRAM 6141.3

The Meriden Board of Education is committed to the concept that all students will have equal access to learning based on each student’s dominant language. When this language is not English, a suitable program will be provided that is appropriate for each student.

In the Meriden Public Schools, English and Spanish are the most common dominant student languages. A K-12 Bilingual Education Program (BEP) is provided for Spanish-dominant students. These students are taught in Spanish and English until they are proficient in English and then they are placed in a regular classroom. When the Bilingual Education Program is not appropriate for Spanish-dominant students or other students whose dominant language is not English, English as a Second Language is offered to assist these students to develop English language proficiency.

Approved April 28, 1981

Amended:  December 6, 2016

Previous Policy Number: HF2.4

View / download BILINGUAL PROGRAM HOME LANGUAGE SURVEY (printable PDF)

View / download BILINGUAL PROGRAM OBSERVATION FORM (printable PDF)

View / download CLASSROOM LANGUAGE DOMINANCE SURVEY (printable PDF)

View / download ANNUAL REVIEW (printable PDF)

View / download BILINGUAL OFFICE LETTER TO PARENT (printable PDF)

Bilingual Program 6141.36 (R)

PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF DOMINANT LANGUAGE

In order to determine the student’s home language, parent(s) or guardian will complete the system-wide registration material. As this time, the Home Language Survey form is completed for all students entering the Meriden Public Schools for the first time.

If the students and parent(s) speak no English and translators are not available, the following procedures are to be used:

1. Notify, as soon as possible, the Supervisor of Bilingual and ESOL Programs.
2. The Central Registration office will provide, as quickly as possible, interpreters to assist the student, his/her parent, and school personnel.
3. In addition to the student’s name, address, telephone number, and name(s) of relatives, medical records and academic records are to be obtained by the school which the student will attend. Translation services, if available, will be provided at the school’s request.
4. Testing to determine the student’s dominant language and English language proficiency will be completed by the Bilingual Office.

. 5. Students who require English as a Second Language instruction (E.S.L.) will be serviced at their resident schools by E.S.L. personnel to be assigned by the Supervisor of Bilingual and ESOL Programs. The extent of E.S.L. is to be determined individually for each student.

6. Only Spanish dominant students are to be transferred out of district to a school that has an appropriate bilingual grade level; this is the practice established in the bilingual segment of our OCR Plan.
7. The Grants Administration Office will identify non-English language translation resources when school personnel are not equipped to effectively translate.

FINAL DETERMINATION OF DOMINANT LANGUAGE

The final determination of a student’s dominant language will be obtained by the administration of equivalent tests in the language ascertained in the preliminary assessment of dominant language and in English. The Bilingual Syntax Measure will be administered to students in kindergarten and first grade. The Crane Dominance Test will be administered to students in grades 2-12. This testing will be completed within five school days.

When a formal observation is utilized, the student is to be observed in unstructured situations with his or her peers by a teacher or trained person proficient in the presumed dominant language and in English (Form HF2.4-E-2). In addition, a Classroom Language Dominance Survey form is to be filled out by the classroom teacher (Form HF2.4-E-3).

DETERMINATION OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

The determination of the student’s English language proficiency will be completed when all of the following are administered:

1. A standardized English language proficiency test (Language Assessment Battery, L.A.B.);
2. Academic grades or other periodic indicators of achievement received by each student in classes taught in English, if available;
3. A personal interview with the student conducted in English by a person trained to conduct such an interview.

PLACEMENT IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION

After the student has been determined to be limited English proficient by the procedures previously described, placement in the bilingual education program (B.E.P.) will occur within twenty school days.

Before a student is placed in the B.E.P., the parent(s)/guardian(s) will be informed about the program, the student’s dominant language classification and the placement of the student in a required program of education. The parent(s)/guardian(s) are then asked, in writing, whether they wish to have the student placed in the B.E.P. English as a Second Language program services will be available for those students who qualify for the B.E.P. but whose parents do not wish placement in that program.

DETERMINATION OF GENERAL ABILITIES

Students identified for the B.E.P. and placed in the program will be assessed for their level of achievement in the areas of vocabulary, reading and mathematics in their dominant language. The classroom teacher will administer the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills in Spanish to determine the student’s level of achievement.

BILINGUAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

The Bilingual Education Program is located in the following schools:

K-1 Thomas Hooker Elementary School

2-5 Hanover Elementary School

6-8 Lincoln Middle School

9-12 Maloney High School

Transportation for students in the B.E.P. will be determined on the same basis as students residing in that district.

Procedures for transportation requests should be made as follows:

1. The home district school principal initiates the request.
2. The principal sends the transportation request to the Transportation, Safety and Compliance Officer.
3. The principal or the Supervisor of Bilingual and ESOL Programs will inform the parent of the student’s assigned bus stop.
4. If there are extra or special transportation costs, the Transportation, Safety and Compliance Officer will confer with the Grants Administrator to determine a final course of action.

EXITING THE BILINGUAL PROGRAM

The English proficiency of each student placed in a bilingual education program shall be reviewed annually.

When the annual review process verifies that the student may have become sufficiently proficient in English to be assessed, all of the following indicators are to be considered in analyzing the student’s progress for purposes of exiting the program:

1. Scores at or above the 50th percentile on the English Language Assessment Battery Test;

2-a. Academic grades or other periodic indicators of achievement in classes taught in English while in the program which are at least average;

2-b. A cumulative average at or above the 35th percentile on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in Reading, Language Arts and Mathematics; and

3. A rating in group 2 in the English interview process.

The student shall not remain in the B.E.P. when two of three criteria above are met (Form HF2.4-E-6).

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE PROGRAM (E.S.L.)

Students whose parents do not select the B.E.P. or students for whom bilingual education is inappropriate will be provided with English as a Second Language program services. With the English as a Second Language Program available in all schools, all children in the community who are dominant in another language are assured of the opportunity to learn to speak, read and write in English.

REVIEW AND HEARING

A parent, guardian, a child’s attorney or other person responsible for a child may request a review and/or a hearing to challenge any or all of the following:

1. The determination that the child is dominant in a language other than English;
2. The identification of the dominant language;
3. The placement of the child in the bilingual education program designated by the Board of Education;
4. The determination that the child is proficient in English;
5. The removal of the child from the bilingual education program; and
6. The failure of the Board of Education to evaluate the child and the failure of the Board of Education to classify the child as dominant in a language other than English.

Approved April 28, 1981

Amended December 6, 2016

Previous Policy Number: HF2.4-R