January 26, 2013

Thousands of English-Learners Denied Services in California, ACLU Says

Education Week

From http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2013/01/thousands_of_ells_denied_servi.html

Thousands of English-Learners Denied Services in Calif., ACLU Says
By Lesli A. Maxwell
January 23, 2013

More than 20,000 English-learners in California are not receiving English-language instruction that is required under state and federal law, according to civil rights lawyers who are threatening to sue the state education agency over the matter.

The American Civil Liberties Union of California on Wednesday demanded that state officials take action against 251 school districts that it says are not providing English-language acquisition services to ELLs enrolled in their schools. Those districts include Los Angeles Unified, the state's largest, with roughly 670,000 students.

There are roughly 1.4 million English-language learners in California. The ACLU claims that nearly 21,000 of them don't receive any language services, and that many parents are not even aware that their children have been designated as ELLs because they don't receive information in a language that they understand, in violation of state law.

California education officials said 98 percent of the state's English-learners receive services, according to a statement released by the education agency.

Read the full article at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2013/01/thousands_of_ells_denied_servi.html

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