AN ACT CONCERNING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 10-17f of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2015):

(a) Annually, the board of education for each local and regional school district shall ascertain, in accordance with regulations adopted by the State Board of Education, the eligible students in such school district and shall classify such students according to their dominant language.

(b) Whenever [it is ascertained that there are in any public school within a local or regional school district twenty or more eligible students classified as dominant in any one language other than English, the board of education of such district] such board of education ascertains that six or more students in a public school under the jurisdiction of such board of education is classified as dominant in any language other than English pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, such board shall provide a program of bilingual education for each such eligible [students] student for the school year next following. Eligible students shall be placed in such program in accordance with subsection (e) of this section.

(c) On or before July 1, 2000, the State Board of Education, within available appropriations, shall develop a state English mastery standard to assess the linguistic and academic progress of students in programs of bilingual education. On and after September 1, 2000, each local and regional board of education shall assess, annually, the progress made by each student toward meeting the state standard. If a student is not making sufficient progress toward meeting the state standard based on the assessment, the local or regional board of education shall provide language support services to the student in consultation with the parent or guardian of the student to allow the student to meet the state standard. Such services may include, but need not be limited to, summer school, after-school assistance and tutoring. If a student meets the state standard based on the assessment, the student shall leave the program. Each local and regional board of education shall document on a student's permanent record the date the student begins in a program of bilingual education and the date and results of the assessments required pursuant to this subsection.

(d) Each local and regional board of education shall limit the time an eligible student spends in a program of bilingual education to [thirty] sixty months, whether or not such months are consecutive, except that summer school and any two-way language programs established pursuant to subsection (i) of this section shall not be counted. If an eligible student does not meet the English mastery standard at the end of [thirty] sixty months, the local or regional board of education shall provide language transition and academic support services to such student. Such services may include, but need not be limited to, English as a second language programs, sheltered English programs, English immersion programs [, tutoring and homework assistance, provided such services may not include a program of bilingual education] or other research-based language development programs. Families may also receive guidance from school professionals to help their children make progress in their native language. If an eligible student enrolls in a secondary school when the student has fewer than [thirty] twenty months remaining before graduation, the local or regional board of education shall assign the student to an English as a second language program and may provide intensive services to the student to enable the student to speak, write and comprehend English by the time the student graduates and to meet the course requirements for graduation.

(e) Each local and regional board of education shall hold a meeting with the parents and legal guardians of eligible students to explain the benefits of the language program options available in the school district, including an English language immersion program. The parents and legal guardians may bring an interpreter or an advisor to the meeting. If the parent or legal guardian of an eligible student opts to have such student placed in a program of bilingual education, the local or regional board of education shall place the child in such program.

(f) The board of education for each local and regional school district which is required to provide a program of bilingual education shall initially endeavor to implement the provisions of subsection (b) of this section through in-service training for existing certified professional employees, and thereafter, shall give preference in hiring to such certified professional employees as are required to maintain the program.

(g) The State Board of Education shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to establish requirements for: (1) Such programs, which may be modeled after policy established by the Department of Education for bilingual education programs; (2) local and regional boards of education to integrate bilingual and English as a second language program faculty in all staff, planning and curriculum development activities; and (3) all bilingual education teachers employed by a local or regional board of education, on and after July 1, 2001, to meet all certification requirements, including completion of a teacher preparation program approved by the State Board of Education, or to be certified through an alternate route to certification program.

(h) Each board of education for a local and regional school district which is required to provide for the first time a program of bilingual education shall prepare and submit to the Commissioner of Education for review a plan to implement such program, in accordance with regulations adopted by the State Board of Education.

(i) Each local and regional board of education that is required to provide a program of bilingual education pursuant to this section shall investigate the feasibility of establishing two-way language programs starting in kindergarten.

Sec. 2. Section 10-17g of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2015):

Annually, the board of education for each local and regional school district that is required to provide a program of bilingual education, pursuant to section 10-17f, as amended by this act, may make application to the State Board of Education and shall thereafter receive a grant in an amount equal to the product obtained by multiplying the total appropriation available for such purpose by the ratio which the number of eligible children in the school district bears to the total number of such eligible children state-wide. The board of education for each local and regional school district receiving funds pursuant to this section shall annually, on or before September first, submit to the State Board of Education a progress report which shall include (1) measures of increased educational opportunities for eligible students, including language support services and language transition support services provided to such students, (2) program evaluation and measures of the effectiveness of its bilingual education and English as a second language programs, including data on students in bilingual education programs and students educated exclusively in English as a second language programs, and (3) certification by the board of education submitting the report that any funds received pursuant to this section have been used for the purposes specified. The State Board of Education shall annually evaluate programs conducted pursuant to section 10-17f, as amended by this act. For purposes of this section, measures of the effectiveness of bilingual education and English as a second language programs include, but need not be limited to, mastery examination results, under section 10-14n, and graduation and school dropout rates. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2009, to June 30, 2015, inclusive, the amount of grants payable to local or regional boards of education under this section shall be reduced proportionately if the total of such grants in such year exceeds the amount appropriated for such grants for such year.

Sec. 3. Section 10-17j of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2015):

(a) If a local or regional board of education is not able to hire a sufficient number of certified bilingual education teachers for a school year, the board of education [may] shall apply to the Commissioner of Education for permission to use a certified teacher of English as a second language to fill its need and the commissioner may grant such request for good cause shown.

(b) The Department of Education shall promote and encourage teacher exchange programs and provide information to local and regional boards of education on such programs in order to increase foreign language proficiency and cultural understanding.

Sec. 4. (Effective from passage) The Department of Education shall study the feasibility of using regional educational service centers to assist local and regional boards of education with a low enrollment of eligible students under subsection (b) of section 10-17f of the general statutes, as amended by this act, in the provision of programs of bilingual education and language transition and academic support services. Such programs and services may include, but need not be limited to, English as second language programs, sheltered English programs, English immersion programs or other research-based language development programs, described in section 10-17f of the general statutes, as amended by this act. Not later than January 1, 2016, the department shall submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.

Statement of Purpose:

To require school districts to provide a program of bilingual education when there are six or more eligible students enrolled in a public school; to increase the time a student may spend in a program of bilingual education from thirty months to sixty months; to expand the measures used to evaluate the effectiveness of bilingual education and English as a second language programs; to provide school districts flexibility in who may provide instruction as part of the bilingual education requirement; and to require the Department of Education to study the feasibility of regional educational service centers providing assistance to school districts for the provision of bilingual education programs.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]