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Emergent Bilingual Students

MISSION:

 

Our mission is to work collaboratively with parents, personnel, and the surrounding community to ensure that the academic and cognitive needs of ALL language learners are being met.

 

GOALS & OBJECTIVES:

 

The Multi-lingual and Multi-cultural Program at Diboll ISD provides an opportunity for those who come from a multi-lingual/multi-cultural home to become academically successful in the foundational concepts of Reading, Math, and Language while encouraging them to continue to retain their home language. Our program also enables those individuals from another country to achieve the skills necessary to be academically successful and to also provide encouragement for them to retain their native language in order that they may have greater educational and vocational opportunities.

 

Diboll ISD’s Dual Language Two-Way Program Model

 

This program will be phased out by 2023-2024 and replaced with the Transitional Bilingual/Early Exit model. 

 

The dual language immersion/two-way model integrates students of limited English proficiency with students proficient in English and transfers a student of limited English proficiency to English-only instruction between six and seven years after the student enrolls in school.

 

Diboll ISD’s Transitional Bilingual/Early Exit Program Model

The purpose of the Transitional Bilingual/Early Exit program is for Bilingual Emergent students to become proficient in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in English through the development of literacy and academic skills in both Spanish and in English. The goal of the Transitional Bilingual/Early Exit Program is for students to utilize their primary language as a resource while acquiring full proficiency in English. Students will receive instruction in English and Spanish. As the student’s English proficiency increases, Spanish language instruction will be gradually phased out.

 

Diboll ISD’s English as a Second Language (ESL) Program

 

The purpose of the English as a Second Language (ESL) program is to make grade level academic content accessible to Emergent Bilingual students. ESL programs target English language development, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, through academic content instruction that is linguistically and culturally responsive. This means that the ESL program uses the academic, linguistic, and cultural background of Emergent Bilingual students  as a platform for acquiring grade level content material in English.



The Texas Education Code (§29.051) requires school districts to provide every language minority student with the opportunity to participate in a bilingual or other special language program. Texas Administrative Code Chapter 89, Subchapter BB (§89.1205) specifies that each school district which has an enrollment of 20 or more Emergent Bilingual students in any language classification in the same grade level district-wide shall offer a Bilingual education program in elementary grades through 5th grade, including 6th grade when clustered with elementary.



Identification of Emergent Bilingual Students
Chapter 89. Adaptations for Special Populations
Subchapter BB. Commissioner's Rules Concerning State Plan for Educating Limited English Proficient Students
§89.1201. Policy. 

  • It is the policy of the state that every student in the state who has a home language other than English and who is identified as limited English proficient shall be provided a full opportunity to participate in a bilingual education or English as a second language program, as required in the Texas Education Code, Chapter 29, Subchapter B. To ensure equal educational opportunity, as required in the Texas Education Code, §1.002(a), each school district shall:
    1. identify limited English proficient students based on criteria established by the state;
    2. provide bilingual education and English as a second language programs, as integral parts of the regular program as described in the Texas Education Code, §4.002;
    3. seek certified teaching personnel to ensure that limited English proficient students are afforded full opportunity to master the essential skills and knowledge required by the state; and
    4. assess achievement for essential skills and knowledge in accordance with the Texas Education Code, Chapter 39, to ensure accountability for limited English proficient students and the schools that serve them.
  •  
  • Identification / Program Entry / Testing Procedures
    An LPAC should follow Texas requirements and have student identification and placement occur within the first 4 weeks of student enrollment.
    • Upon initial enrollment all students must have a Home Language Survey (HLS) completed in their permanent record (only one: the original). The HLS shall be administered to each student new to the district, and to students previously enrolled who were not surveyed in the past. If the HLS indicates a language other than English, testing must be initiated to determine English proficiency.
    • For entry into a bilingual education or ESL program, a student shall be identified as an English learner using the following criteria. (1) In prekindergarten through Grade 1, the student's score from the listening and speaking components on the state-approved English language proficiency test for identification is below the level designated for indicating English proficiency. (2) In Grades 2-12, the student's score from the listening, speaking, reading, and writing components on the state-approved English language proficiency test for identification is below the level designated for indicating English proficiency.
    • A student shall be identified as an English learner if the student's ability in English is so limited that the English language proficiency assessment described in subsection (c) of this section cannot be administered.
    • The language proficiency assessment committee in conjunction with the admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee shall identify a student as an English learner if the student's ability in English is so limited or the student's disabilities are so severe that the English language proficiency assessment described in subsection (c) of this section cannot be administered. The decision for entry into a bilingual education or ESL program shall be determined by the language proficiency assessment committee in conjunction with the ARD committee in accordance with §89.1220(f) of this title (relating to Language Proficiency Assessment Committee).
    • The Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC), using testing data and any other available student information, will determine whether the student is LEP, recommend the appropriate educational program for each LEP student, notify the parent of each LEP student about classification and recommendation (Bilingual/ESL and/or Title III Special Language Program,) and facilitate the participation of LEP students in other special programs provided by the district with either state or federal funds for which they are eligible.
      The student will be served in the required §89.1205 program recommended by the LPAC. From the date of enrollment, the district has four weeks to complete all paperwork including written parent permission.
    • The campus bilingual program LPAC membership consists of a campus administrator, a professional bilingual teacher, a professional transitional language educator, and a parent of a limited-English proficient student who is not employed by the school district. For a campus not required to implement a bilingual program, the LPAC consists of a campus administrator, an ESL teacher, and a parent of a LEP student.
    • All LPAC members are required to receive training, and certification to serve on the committee. If one of the members does not understand English (parent), the training should be developed in the member’s primary language.