Overview of the Resolution Agreement with the United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights Regarding the Provision of Services to English Language Learners during the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 School Years
The Jersey City Public Schools Bilingual/ESL programs currently service 2,583 students who speak over 45 different languages through a series of different programs designed to meet their educational needs. The programs range from full and part-time self-contained bilingual instruction, to high intensity English as a Second Language instruction, to port-of-entry programs that service students who are determined to be over age but who may have never attended school before. The services are a significant part of the District Strategic Plan’s Mission and Mandate to ENSURE THAT EVERY STUDENT, REGARDLESS OF GENDER, ETHNICITY, LANGUAGE, CULTURE OR ECONOMIC STATUS, HAS EQUAL ACCESS AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR A RIGOROUS, RESEARCH-BASED, COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION.
This wide range of programs has resulted in the District’s ELL students outperforming ELL students throughout the State of New Jersey. In fact, in 2013 the District students outperformed the State in every area except Grade 11 Math with a difference of nearly 19 points in Grade 3 Language Arts Literacy. Nevertheless, there is still work to be done, and the District must and will continue to improve the provision of services in order to close the achievement gap between ELL and non-ELL students.
Recognizing the achievement gap, in 2013, the United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) began to examine the services provided during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years in two areas:
1. Whether the Jersey City School District provides equal educational opportunity to national origin minority students who are English Language Learners (ELL); and
2. Whether the District’s communications with limited English proficient parents provides them with meaningful access to information the District provides to parents.
The District worked cooperatively with the OCR, provided voluminous documentation and entered into a Conciliation Agreement addressing the OCR concerns on December 22, 2014. Both before and during the review, the District continued to restructure the provision of services to its English Language Learners, as closing the achievement gap is a critical element in the District’s Strategic Plan. In implementing the Strategic Plan and complying with the OCR, below are some of the steps that have been taken to date. Some of the actions, such as translation and interpretation services, were initiated prior to the OCR Resolution, and others, such as partnering with local universities to certify more bilingual and ESL teachers, while not required, are undertaken because of our commitment to ALL students.
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• The Home Language Survey is now part of the registration process for all students
• LEP Parents are identified through the Home Language Survey
• Translation and Interpreter Services are now available at the school level through telephone interpretation as well as written translation
• Translation services are available at parent meetings and at meetings of the Board of Education
• Additional certified bilingual and ESL teachers have been hired
• Cooperative programs with local colleges have been created so that current subject matter teachers may become certified as bilingual and ESL teachers
• An expanded Multilingual Intake Center Handbook was developed for the 2014-2015 school year
• There is early identification of ELL students entering kindergarten
• Former ELL students are now monitored for two years following departure from the program
• Students whose parents have refused ELL services are monitored through the ACCESS for ELL test
• New ESL materials have been prepared for Board of Education adoption for grades k-5 and 6-8 for the 2015-2016 school year
• The District is also currently working on
o Developing a new bilingual/ESL program manual
o Reviewing, updating and adopting Special Education policies and procedures for LEP students and
o Reviewing proper ELL/LEP identification, program status, exit procedures, reclassification and reentry procedures.
The OCR Resolution Agreement had a series of action items and reporting dates beginning January 31, 2015. Other target dates are June 30, 2015, July 15, 2015, September 30, 2015, and June 30, 2016. The District will be providing periodic updates on its progress.
The Jersey City Public Schools is committed to full implementation of services for its English Language Learners and PREPARING ALL OUR STUDENTS FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER.
A full copy of the OCR Resolution Agreement OCR and the Compliance Review Report are attached.