Procedures

All districts, not just those that receive Title III funds, have a responsibility to identify English learner students in need of language assistance services. Even districts that currently do not have any English learners enrolled must have procedures in place for identifying, and providing support to ELs. Our statewide procedures for identification require the use of a home language survey as the first step to identifying those students.

Plan of Service

Any district with at least eight English learners enrolled in any one site must have an approved EL Plan of Service on file with the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. Plans of Service can be valid for up to five years.

Parent Notification (Initial Parent Notification or Continuing Parent Notification)

Title I-A requires that districts notify parents annually of their child’s participation in English learner programs. This notification must include:

1. the reasons for the identification of their child as an English learner and in need of placement in a language instruction educational program;

2. the child’s level of English proficiency, how such level was assessed, and the status of the child’s academic achievement;

3. the methods of instruction used in the program in which their child is, or will be, participating and the methods of instruction used in other available programs, including how such programs differ in content, instructional goals, and the use of English and a native language in instruction;

4. how the program in which their child is, or will be, participating will meet the educational strengths and needs of their child;

5. how such program will specifically help their child learn English and meet age-appropriate academic achievement standards for grade promotion and graduation;

6. the specific exit requirements for the program, including the expected rate of transition from such program into classrooms that are not tailored for English learners, and the expected rate of graduation from high school (including four-year adjusted cohort graduation rates and extended-year adjusted cohort graduation rates for such program) if funds under this part are used for children in high schools;

7. in the case of a child with a disability, how such program meets the objectives of the individualized education program of the child, as described in section 614(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1414(d)); and

8. information pertaining to parental rights that includes written guidance—

1. detailing the right that parents have to have their child immediately removed from such program upon their request;

2. detailing the options that parents have to decline to enroll their child in such program or to choose another program or method of instruction, if available; and

3. assisting parents in selecting among various programs and methods of instruction, if more than 1 program or method is offered by the district or school.