The Department of Education stated yesterday that the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) would be performing an assessment of the civil rights of English Learner (EL) students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The assessment will be the first official civil rights action that the Department of Education will have undertaken to ensure that schools are complying with federal laws on ensuring the civil rights of students.
The review is meant to assess whether EL students are receiving effective education in EL classes in the LAUSD, a district which is home to a great number English learner students. The main focus of the review will be to evaluate whether current EL development programs in LAUSD schools are effective and provide students with access to core curriculum content in a meaningful way. It will also assess whether communication with student’s parents is sufficient and effective in fostering students’ educational progress.
According to a study published in October 2009 by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TPRI) at University of Southern California, nearly two-thirds of the entire population in LAUSD were English learners at one point. Of these students, 30 percent were not reclassified into non-EL classes until the eighth grade and 29 percent were never reclassified as English-proficient.
This high rate, the study concludes, cannot plausibly be due to the lack of cognitive skills and ability among these students, stating, “some may assert that cognitive skills or ability are affecting learning outcomes. However, this is not plausible; a rate of 29 percent defies the normal distribution of cognitive skills that education researchers assume in any given population, and research suggests that ELs need five to seven years to learn English with native fluency.”
According to Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali, there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that the school district is not currently meeting federal civil rights’ laws. It is also good news that the superintendent of LAUSD, Ramon Cortines has agreed to cooperate with the reviewers in carrying out the assessment.
The review and its findings could prove to be crucial for EL students. The TRPI study shows that “reclassification into mainstream classrooms is associated with improved academic outcomes in high school.” The study also concludes that EL students who were deemed ‘proficient’ in English by the eighth grade had two-thirds the odds of failing the nineth grade and were half as likely to drop out in general.
Ali expressed the importance of ensuring equal educational opportunity for all students, stating, “In today’s information age, America has to both raise the bar for student learning and close the achievement gap—anything less is economically unsustainable and morally unacceptable.”
The LAUSD is the largest school district in the United States, second only to New York City Public Schools district.
The review is meant to assess whether EL students are receiving effective education in EL classes in the LAUSD, a district which is home to a great number English learner students. The main focus of the review will be to evaluate whether current EL development programs in LAUSD schools are effective and provide students with access to core curriculum content in a meaningful way. It will also assess whether communication with student’s parents is sufficient and effective in fostering students’ educational progress.
According to a study published in October 2009 by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TPRI) at University of Southern California, nearly two-thirds of the entire population in LAUSD were English learners at one point. Of these students, 30 percent were not reclassified into non-EL classes until the eighth grade and 29 percent were never reclassified as English-proficient.
This high rate, the study concludes, cannot plausibly be due to the lack of cognitive skills and ability among these students, stating, “some may assert that cognitive skills or ability are affecting learning outcomes. However, this is not plausible; a rate of 29 percent defies the normal distribution of cognitive skills that education researchers assume in any given population, and research suggests that ELs need five to seven years to learn English with native fluency.”
According to Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali, there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that the school district is not currently meeting federal civil rights’ laws. It is also good news that the superintendent of LAUSD, Ramon Cortines has agreed to cooperate with the reviewers in carrying out the assessment.
The review and its findings could prove to be crucial for EL students. The TRPI study shows that “reclassification into mainstream classrooms is associated with improved academic outcomes in high school.” The study also concludes that EL students who were deemed ‘proficient’ in English by the eighth grade had two-thirds the odds of failing the nineth grade and were half as likely to drop out in general.
Ali expressed the importance of ensuring equal educational opportunity for all students, stating, “In today’s information age, America has to both raise the bar for student learning and close the achievement gap—anything less is economically unsustainable and morally unacceptable.”
The LAUSD is the largest school district in the United States, second only to New York City Public Schools district.
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