Making Sure Your EL Program Passes the Civil Rights Test

In March 2010, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced it would “reinvigorate civil rights enforcement” in U.S. schools, and elected to begin this effort with a visit to the L.A. Unified School District (LAUSD). Because English Learners (ELs) comprise more than 30% of LAUSD’s enrollment, this announcement signals that ED’s renewed attention to civil rights will include increased scrutiny into how adequately districts and schools teach and advance their ELs. This has led school districts across the country to ask the question, “are our teachers appropriately qualified, and do we have the proper programs in place for ELs?” Through various federal regulatory acts and laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, states must supply additional supports to EL children sometimes above and beyond providing equal access to education. But guidance from the Office for Civil Rights about the specific additional supports necessary for EL children has been sparse, such that many states, districts and schools still do not fully understand their roles and responsibilities, let alone whether they are in compliance.

This 90-minute interactive webinar will reflect on the recent targeted action by the Office of Civil Rights on the Los Angeles Unified School District—how can other districts prepare for such investigations, and ensure compliance even if they are not being actively monitored? What common misperceptions might lead districts to unknowingly be in violation? What lessons can be learned from LAUSD’s example?

After this Webinar, You'll Learn:

• What are the current statutes regarding ELs and Civil Rights?
• How do specific ESEA programs relate to these statutes?
• Identify and correct common mistakes and misperceptions that create violations.
• What are the steps you can take now, five months from now, and one year from now to measure the adequacy of your program?
• What are the roles for states, district, and school level administrators in ensuring that ELS’ civil rights are upheld?
• What consequences do districts face if they are found to be in violation?
• Where can practitioners find additional information and guidance about EL civil rights?

Attendees Who Will Benefit From This Webinar Include:

• State Education Agency officials
• School administrators and supervisors
• Federal program administrators
• Federal program fiscal staff
• LEA administrators and supervisors
• School principals
• School board members

Dr. Waring is a Senior Analyst and ESL Specialist and edCount, LLC.  edCount, a woman-owned small business, is committed to working with teachers, administrators, and other education stakeholders to support high-quality practices and to expand educators’ capacity to interpret, build, implement, and evaluate policy related to standards, assessments, and accountability.  Concurrently, she is an adjunct Professor at South Dakota State University, where her ongoing work centers on instructing pre-service teachers and graduate students on teaching English as a second language and differentiating content instruction for ELLs.

Prior to joining edCount in 2008, Dr. Waring served as the State Director of Tile III at the South Dakota Department of Education, a role in which she provided leadership for all statewide programs and services for ELLs. Between 1990 and 2007, Dr. Waring served the Sioux Falls Public School District in various capacities, including as the Director of Federal Programs and Grants Management, as the district-level coordinator of a discretionary grant teacher training program for professional development for ESL and mainstream teachers, and as an ESL teacher at the elementary, middle school and high school levels.

Dr. Waring holds a number of teaching certificates, including English Language Arts and English as a New Language. As an officer in the National Association of State Title III Directors, Dr. Waring has worked with many personnel from state and local education agencies, and has extensive experience and familiarity with states’ and districts’ information and professional development needs in the areas of curriculum, instruction, assessment, accountability and standards.

Ellen Forte is the President and founder of edCount, LLC. With nearly two decades’ experience conducting research, providing advice and reporting on standards, assessments, and accountability, Dr. Forte has become a respected authority on assisting state and local education agencies in the successful interpretation and implementation of education policies.

Currently, Dr. Forte serves as the Co-Principal Investigator and Director of Assessment Services for the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA), the center that provides technical assistance information and a wide range of resources related to instruction and assessment of English language learners on behalf of the United States Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA). Dr. Forte is also the Principal Investigator for validity evaluation projects for the alternate academic assessments for students with significant cognitive disabilities in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. She is the chief policy advisor to the National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University on its implementation of standards, assessments, and accountability mechanisms as required under the 2008 Education of the Deaf Act and also holds seats on the assessment Technical Advisory Committees for Nebraska, Louisiana, South Dakota, Montana, and Puerto Rico, on which she serves as Chairperson. Dr. Forte is a member of the editorial boards for Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, the National Council on Measurement in Education newsletter, and the “No Child Left Behind Alert” published by Eli Research. Between 2006 and 2008, she directed the State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards for English Language Learners through the Council of Chief State School Officers.

Over the past several years, Dr. Forte has written a number of monographs on state accountability systems, including five papers, produced annually, to track changes in states’ NCLB-related accountability models. She was a peer reviewer of statewide standards and assessment systems under both the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and is currently serving as a Senior Advisor for the first national evaluation of Title III implementation. Over the past 15 years, she has presented or published more than 50 papers, and has participated on numerous discussions groups, panels and conference planning committees.

Molly Faulkner-Bond is a policy associate at edCount LLC, where she supports Dr. Forte and her team of senior associates. Ms. Faulkner-Bond earned her bachelor’s degree at Harvard University, where she graduated, magna cum laude, in 2006 with an A.B. in Philosophy and a certificate from the university’s Mind, Brain, Behavior program. She is a published writer who has researched, written, and edited texts on philosophy, travel, and popular culture. At edCount, Ms. Faulkner-Bond directs communication and editorial projects and provides support on research and technical assistance projects as needed.