NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6863
SPONSOR: Crespo TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the education law, in relation to
bilingual education or English as a second language for certain students
PURPOSE:
To amend the education law, in relation to bilingual education or
English as a second language for certain students
SUMMARY OF PROVISION:
Section 1. Paragraph 3 of subdivision 2-a of section 3204 of the educa-
tion law, added by chapter 827 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read
as follows:
3. Eligibility for such programs shall be based on the following crite-
ria.
(a) A pupil of a foreign background has trouble speaking or understand-
ing the English language, or has been deemed limited in his/her English
proficiency by an English language assessment instrument approved by the
commissioner. Such pupils shall receive a program of bilingual education
of English as a second language in accordance with standards established
by the commissioner and subject to the subdivision two of this section.
The parent of the pupils facing such difficulty in learning another
language shall be informed by the local school authorities of the
pupil's placement in an instructional program.
(b) Those pupils who are identified as proficient in the English
language through this annual English language assessment instrument,
shall continue to receive a program of bilingual education or English as
a second language for one additional year, as long as requested and
approved by the board of education of the school districts or board of
cooperative educational services by August 1st of the upcoming school
year. The parent or guardian of the pupil should be made aware of their
right to request such opportunity by either board.
(c) The teacher of the bilingual education program can also make one
such request no later than August 1St of the upcoming school year at the
consent of the pupil's parent or guardian.
Section 2. Paragraph 7 of subdivision 2-a of section 3204 of the educa-
tion law, as added by chapter 827 of the laws of 1982, is amended to
read as follows:
7. After a pupil is enrolled in a regular instructional program, (he)
such pupil may receive additional instruction in (his) such pupil's
native language.
(a) Each school district shall provide transitional services for one
additional year in the school year after transitional services would end
upon the request of a pupil's parents to the board of education of the
school district or board of cooperative educational services by August
1st of the upcoming school year. Parents should also be notified of this
option by the school district or board of cooperative educational
services no later than August first of the school year. Transitional
services include but are not limited to academic intervention services,
content area support, English as a second language instruction, or regu-
lar consultation between the English as a second language teacher or
bilingual educational teacher and regular instruction teacher for such
pupil.
(b) The teacher of the bilingual educational program can also make one
such request no later than August 1st of the upcoming school year at the
consent of the pupil's parent or guardian.
Section 3. This act shall take effect, July 1st, 2014.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York State has a graduation rate of 74% and 31 states have higher
graduation rates than us. But these numbers fail to show the crisis of
the situation for English language learners who are dropping out of
school in alarmingly high rates.
About 34% of ELL students graduate high, overall drop of 4% from 2012.
There are over 214,000 ELL students in New York, speaking over 160
different languages. These dynamics create challenges for our education
system and are factors that impact our economy and communities:
*High school dropouts twice as likely to be unemployed; *Students with-
out a HS diploma face higher mortality rates;
*On average students who don't graduate are likely to live on low
incomes; and
*Each student who doesn't graduate cost $70,000 to the state throughout
their lifetime in loss tax payments, health expenses, money spent on
crime and welfare expenditures.
This legislation focuses on helping to increase school completion and
English language attainment be allowing an ELL student the ability to
stay in his/her English language acquisition program one additional year
at the request of the parent and with input from school staff.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Legislation
A9568 of 2013 died in Assembly Ways and Means
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Minimal
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect, July 1st, 2014.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6863
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 6, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CRESPO -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to bilingual education or
English as a second language for certain students
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph 3 of subdivision 2-a of section 3204 of the
2 education law, as added by chapter 827 of the laws of 1982, is amended
3 to read as follows:
4 3. Eligibility for such programs shall be based on the following
5 criteria. (a) A pupil who by reason of foreign birth or ancestry speaks
6 a language other than English, and either understands and speaks little
7 or no English, or who has been identified by any English language
8 assessment instrument approved by the commissioner as a pupil of limited
9 English proficiency, shall receive a program of bilingual education or
10 English as a second language in accordance with standards established by
11 the commissioner. A pupil's proficiency in the English language shall be
12 measured annually by such language assessment instrument in order to
13 determine further participation in bilingual education or English as a
14 second language program in accordance with standards established by the
15 commissioner, subject to the provisions of subdivision two of this
16 section. The parent or guardian of a pupil designated as limited English
17 proficient shall be informed by the local school authorities of the
18 pupil's placement in an instructional program.
19 (b) A pupil who is identified as proficient in the English language,
20 as measured by the annual English language assessment instrument, shall
21 continue to receive a program of bilingual education or English as a
22 second language for one additional year during the following school year
23 if specifically requested in writing by the parent or guardian of such
24 pupil to the board of education of the school district or board of coop-
25 erative educational services no later than August first of the school
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05901-01-5
A. 6863 2
1 year. The parent or guardian of the pupil shall receive notification
2 from the school district or board of cooperative educational services of
3 the right to request that such pupil continue to receive a program or
4 bilingual education or English as a second language and such notifica-
5 tion shall be prepared by the department. Such request may only be made
6 once. Nothing in this paragraph shall affect the right of a former
7 limited English proficient pupil to receive transitional services in
8 accordance with state and federal laws and regulations once the pupil no
9 longer receives a program of bilingual education or English as a second
10 language.
11 (c) A pupil who is identified as proficient in the English language,
12 as measured by the annual English language assessment instrument, shall
13 continue to receive a program of bilingual education or English as a
14 second language for one additional year during the following school year
15 if specifically requested in writing by the English as a second language
16 or bilingual education teacher of such pupil, and with consent of the
17 parent or guardian, to the board of education of the school district or
18 board of cooperative educational services no later than August first of
19 the school year. Such teacher may only request a continuation of such
20 education if the teacher determines that the pupil is not sufficiently
21 prepared for a general education program and maintaining such pupil
22 within a program of bilingual education or English as a second language
23 will substantially increase the educational prospects of such pupil.
24 Such request may only be made once. Nothing in this paragraph shall
25 affect the right of a former limited English proficient pupil to receive
26 transitional services in accordance with state and federal laws and
27 regulations once the pupil no longer receives a program of bilingual
28 education or English as a second language.
29 § 2. Paragraph 7 of subdivision 2-a of section 3204 of the education
30 law, as added by chapter 827 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as
31 follows:
32 7. After a pupil is enrolled in a regular instructional program, [he]
33 such pupil may receive additional instruction in [his] such pupil's
34 native language. (a) Each school district shall provide transitional
35 services for one additional year in the school year after transitional
36 services would end, in accordance with federal law and commissioner
37 regulations, if the parent or guardian of such pupil specifically
38 requests in writing to the board of education of the school district or
39 board of cooperative educational services no later than August first of
40 the school year. The parent or guardian of such pupil shall receive
41 notification from the school district or board of cooperative educa-
42 tional services of the right to request that such pupil continue to
43 receive transitional services in a regular instructional program and
44 such notification shall be in a manner and form as prepared by the
45 department. Transitional services shall include but not be limited to
46 academic intervention services, content area support, English as a
47 second language instruction, or regular consultation between the English
48 as a second language teacher or bilingual educational teacher and regu-
49 lar instruction teacher for such pupil.
50 (b) Each school district shall provide transitional services for one
51 additional year in the school year after transitional services would
52 end, in accordance with federal law and commissioner regulations, if the
53 English as a second language or bilingual educational teacher or a regu-
54 lar instructional teacher of such pupil specifically requests in writ-
55 ing, with consent of the parent or guardian of the pupil, to the board
56 of education of the school district or board of cooperative educational
A. 6863 3
1 services no later than August first of the school year. Such teacher may
2 only request a continuation of such services if the teacher determines
3 that the pupil is not sufficiently prepared for a general educational
4 program and maintaining transitional services for such pupil will
5 substantially increase the educational prospects of such pupil. Transi-
6 tional services shall include but not be limited to academic inter-
7 vention services, content area support, English as a second language
8 instruction, or regular consultation between the English as a second
9 language teacher or bilingual educational teacher and regular instruc-
10 tion teacher for such pupil.
11 § 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.
