Los Angeles Unified School District officials say they understand that there are problems with English Language Learner (ELL) programs that need to be addressed, and their hope is that the ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Education will bring about that change.

"We're always looking to assure that we are providing the programs that are in alignment with state and federal mandates," said Mary Campbell, administrator for the language acquisition branch of the LAUSD.

The probe, which began about three weeks ago, is aimed at identifying issues with english as a second language (ESL) programs nationwide in order to rewrite legislation to help support them.

"The reason that the [Department of Education] is looking into it is because they look across the nation and see the trend of EL's not making progress on the academic side and are using this info to rewrite the legislation," Campbell said.

So with change imminent, what do educators think needs tweaking?

Dr. Kathleen Flynn, division chair of credit ESL at Glendale Community College, believes it starts with the teachers.

"Teachers need more training in ESL skills because teaching native speakers and non-native speakers are two completely different skill sets," Flynn said.

Virginia Heringer, ESL coordinator at Pasadena City College, had similar thoughts.

"What you need is a whole new generation of teachers who are language and literature teachers," Heringer said. "What we need are teachers who are competent in both."

While educators agree that change is way overdue, one in particular thinks that the way English proficiency is measured also needs adjusting.

"The area of concern is how do we measure progress and report it out so that progress is reported as opposed to the absolute measures," Campbell said. "Accountability systems need to be aligned with the student's achievement level."

But the ELL problems at the LAUSD are not unique. 

"In terms of ELL students overall, first of all I think the thing that is important for the general public to understand is nationally ELL (academic performance of) is an issue," Campbell said. "When we look at urban districts in California they have the same issue in terms of English-learner's not meeting the national Title III accountability of progress in English." 

And legislation regarding English Language Learners is nothing new. There is a long history of federal legislation pertaining to ELLs beginning with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

In Title VI of that act, it states that no person shall be denied the right to programs receiving federal funding based on race, color or national origin. 

It wasn't until 1970 that the former Department of Health, Education and Welfare issued a memorandum that clarified school districts' responsibility to provide special service programs to ELLs under Title VI. 

On a more local level, Prop 227 was passed in California in 1997. The initiative stated that all public school instruction be conducted in English and that short-term placement, usually of a year or less, in an English-speaking home be provided for children not fluent in the native tongue. It also mandated that $50 million a year for 10 years be spent on training tutors.

But all of the legislation over the years doesn't appear to have made a large enough impact.

One-third of LAUSD students are ELL and only 3 percent at the high school level are proficient in math and English, Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education, told KPCC in a recent interview. 

 

Despite these statistics, Campbell says the school district has actually met their marks.

"When you look at the state data we have exceeded our state reclassification rate the past four years. The state has AMAOs (Accountability for English Language Learners), and we have exceeded the targets in terms of students making progress."

The only question that remains is, amid a state budget crisis, where will the funding come from to improve EL programs?

"We receive funding from the state and the federal government for ELs," Campbell said.  "That money is earmarked or targeted for the EL population, and it needs to be utilized to provide direct support to those students."