No. 138-AR
                                                                                                            SCHOOL DISTRICT OF
                                                                                                            SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP
                                                                                                            ADMINISTRATIVE RULE
                      138-AR.  GUIDELINES FOR THE ESL/BILINGUAL PROGRAM

            Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students shall be enrolled upon presentation of a local address and proof of immunization.

            The Home Language Survey shall be completed for every student in the district and filed in the student’s permanent record folder through graduation.  For students whose dominant language is not English, assessment of the student’s English proficiency level must be completed to determine the need for English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction.

            The English as a Second Language/Bilingual program shall be designed to provide instruction to meet each student’s individual needs, based on the assessment of English proficiency in reading, writing, listening and speaking.  Adequate content area support shall be provided while the student is learning English to ensure achievement of academic standards.

            All ESL programs will be staffed by certified personnel, where required.
Instructional resources shall be comparable to the resources provided other core academic subjects.

            The program shall be evaluated for effectiveness based on the attainment of English proficiency.  If English Language Learners (ELL) are not learning English, the program shall be changed to ensure greater success.

            The ELL shall be required to meet established academic standards and graduation requirements with accommodations, as adopted by the Board.

            Students shall have access to and should be encouraged to participate in all academic and extracurricular activities available in the district.

Communication with parents shall include information a11/08/2006education issues in the language understood by the parent.

Adopted:        February 4, 2003