Bilingual/ESL - Technical Assistance Document

Title I and Limited-English Proficient (LEP) Memo

Date:	February 24, 1998
To:	Title I Program Coordinators and Instructional Staff Bilingual/ESL Program Administrators and Instructional Staff
From:	Myrna Toney, Tim Boals, Seree Weroha Title I and Bilingual/ESL Programs
Subject:	Eligibility of Limited-English Proficient (LEP) Students for Title I Services

The purpose of this memorandum is to assist you in clarifying frequently raised issues related to the eligibility for and participation of limited-English proficient students in Title I funded services. The Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) of 1994 stipulates that LEP children are eligible to be considered for Title I services "on the same basis as other children who are selected for services." The IASA legislation requires that, in a targeted assistance school, children failing or at risk of failing be selected for service on a priority basis because these individuals are the farthest from meeting established state and local standards. In a schoolwide project all students will be considered eligible and programming must address the special needs of all pupils. Therefore, instruction would need to be appropriate to assist LEP students to be successful in meeting the same high standards expected of all students.

As districts and schools establish goals and expectations for the delivery of educational support to help students attain high standards, through combined local, state, and federal resources, the following points of emphases found in the IASA legislation are of great importance:

1. LEP children are unequivocally identified as a priority group for consideration during the needs assessment process because of their limited-English proficiency.

2. No child should be excluded from the Title I building level needs assessment process based on their lack of English-language proficiency. Language development needs may be the reason why these children are found to be most in need of services and because of this need they are not able to attain high academic standards.

While the IASA legislation clarifies the inclusion of LEP students in the needs assessment and selection of eligible pupils for participation on the same basis as other children, these important considerations should be noted:

1. Title I, Part A, program services cannot supplant language assistance services required by federal, state, or local law, rather they must be supplemental to such programs. Supplemental services may include additional instructional services and/or supplemental materials. Therefore, Title I services are not to be provided in lieu of those services the LEP child is entitled to according to local, state, or federal laws. Once these are provided, Title I supplemental services may be provided. These services may also be provided in the same subject areas as the LEP students receive from district provided services.

2. Beyond determination of eligibility for service, school personnel must also consider the appropriateness of each individual child's instructional plan of services to avoid fragmentation. Local educators might well ask the question, "What combination of services, Title I included, best addresses the LEP child's needs?" Collaboration between and among regular classroom teachers, Title I program education, and bilingual/English as a second language (ESL) educators will be increasingly important as questions like these are considered. This point also raises important issues regarding staff development for all teachers involved in the education of LEP students.

Since LEP students at levels 1-3 of English proficiency are currently exempted from Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) testing (PI 16), educators must rely on local performance indicators and multiple, alternate assessment measures to document need as well as measuring academic progress within Title I programs.

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EXAMPLES OF TITLE I-FUNDED SERVICES FOR LIMITED-ENGLISH PROFICIENT (LEP) STUDENTS:

• Title I funds are used to pay the salaries of instructional staff who work with those students having academic difficulties, including LEP students, as well as for native language instructional materials where the district's selected alternative language program only requires use of English language as a means of instruction. Such staff includes additional ESL/bilingual teachers above and beyond what is paid for with Title VII funds and funds from comparable state programs, as well as other staff who work closely with the ESL bilingual teachers and regular classroom teachers.
• A local educational agency (LEA) has a Title I-funded accelerated before- and after-school program for LEP students. One part of the program pairs high school and elementary school students for activities such as shared reading and writing time. Guided reading, math, and science activities and reinforcement of content concepts studies during the day are also an integral part of these sessions.
• An LEA uses Title I funds for an accelerated summer academic program for LEP students to build upon the skills that are developed during the school year in literacy and content mastery. One part of the program groups Title I-eligible LEP students by grade level and teams them with English-proficient Title I students. This gives the LEP students greater opportunity for English language usage. The content-based language instruction program is taught by a team of teachers--pairing a bilingual and non-bilingual staff member in each class. A variety of activities, such as field trips, are an integral part of the instructional program and provide opportunities to enrich language experiences.

FROM: Title I, Part A, Policy Manual. US Department of Education, 1995, Page 8.

(The info in this document is up-to-date, 01/17/01)

For questions about this information, contact Tolu T. Sanabria (608) 267-9235

Last updated on 2/25/2008 1:42:59 PM