| (a) Districts shall by local board policy establish and operate
a language proficiency assessment committee. The district shall have on file
policy and procedures for the selection, appointment, and training of members
of the language proficiency assessment committee(s).
(b) In districts required to provide a bilingual education
program, the language proficiency assessment committee shall be composed of
the membership described in the Texas Education Code, §29.063. If the
district does not have an individual in one or more of the school job classifications
required, the district shall designate another professional staff member to
serve on the language proficiency assessment committee. The district may add
other members to the committee in any of the required categories.
(c) In districts and grade levels not required to provide a
bilingual education program, the language proficiency assessment committee
shall be composed of one or more professional personnel and a parent of a
limited English proficient student participating in the program designated
by the district.
(d) No parent serving on the language proficiency assessment
committee shall be an employee of the school district.
(e) A district shall establish and operate a sufficient number
of language proficiency assessment committees to enable them to discharge
their duties within four weeks of the enrollment of limited English proficient
students.
(f) All members of the language proficiency assessment committee,
including parents, shall be acting for the school district and shall observe
all laws and rules governing confidentiality of information concerning individual
students. The district shall be responsible for the orientation and training
of all members, including the parents, of the language proficiency assessment
committee.
(g) Upon their initial enrollment and at the end of each school
year, the language proficiency assessment committee shall review all pertinent
information on all limited English proficient students identified in accordance
with §89.1225(f) of this title (relating to Testing and Classification
of Students), and shall:
(1) designate the language proficiency level of each limited
English proficient student in accordance with the guidelines issued pursuant
to §89.1210(b) and (d) of this title (relating to Program Content and
Design);
(2) designate the level of academic achievement of each limited
English proficient student;
(3) designate, subject to parental approval, the initial instructional
placement of each limited English proficient student in the required program;
(4) facilitate the participation of limited English proficient
students in other special programs for which they are eligible provided by
the district with either state or federal funds; and
(5) classify students as English proficient in accordance with
the criteria described in §89.1225(h) of this title (relating to Testing
and Classification of Students), and recommend their exit from the bilingual
education or English as a second language program.
(h) Before the administration of the state criterion-referenced
test each year, the language proficiency assessment committee shall determine
the appropriate assessment option for each limited English proficient student
as outlined in Chapter 101, Subchapter AA, of this title (relating to Commissioner's
Rules Concerning the Participation of Limited English Proficient Students
in State Assessments). The assessment options shall be:
(1) administration of the English version criterion-referenced
test;
(2) administration of the Spanish version criterion-referenced
test; or
(3) for certain immigrant students, exemption from the criterion-referenced
test.
(i) In determining the appropriate assessment option, the language
proficiency assessment committee shall consider the following criteria for
each student:
(1) academic program participation (bilingual education or
English as a second language) and language of instruction;
(2) language proficiency, including literacy, in English and/or
Spanish;
(3) number of years enrolled in U.S. schools;
(4) previous testing history;
(5) level achieved in the state reading proficiency tests in
English (RPTE);
(6) consecutive years of residence outside of the 50 U.S. states;
and
(7) schooling outside the U.S.
(j) The language proficiency assessment committee shall give
written notice to the student's parent advising that the student has been
classified as limited English proficient and requesting approval to place
the student in the required bilingual education or English as a second language
program. The notice shall include information about the benefits of the bilingual
education or English as a second language program for which the student has
been recommended and that it is an integral part of the school program.
(k) Pending parent approval of a limited English proficient
student's entry into the bilingual education or English as a second language
program recommended by the language proficiency assessment committee, the
district shall place the student in the recommended program, but may count
only limited English proficient students with parental approval for bilingual
education allotment.
(l) The language proficiency assessment committee shall monitor
the academic progress of each student who has exited from a bilingual or English
as a second language program within the past two years to determine whether
the student is academically successful as defined in §89.1225(j) of this
title (relating to Testing and Classification of Students). Those students
who are not academically successful due to limited English proficiency shall
be reclassified as limited English proficient (LEP), and shall be recommended
for participation in a bilingual education or English as a second language
program. Students who are not reclassified as LEP may be placed in compensatory
and accelerated instruction or other special language program which addresses
their needs.
(m) The student's permanent record shall contain documentation
of all actions impacting the limited English proficient student. This documentation
shall include:
(1) the identification of the student as limited English proficient;
(2) the designation of the student's level of language proficiency;
(3) the recommendation of program placement;
(4) parental approval of entry or placement into the program;
(5) the dates of entry into, and placement within, the program;
(6) the dates of exemptions from the criterion-referenced test,
criteria used for this determination, and additional instructional interventions
provided to students to ensure adequate yearly progress;
(7) the date of exit from the program and parent notification;
and
(8) the results of monitoring for academic success, including
students formerly classified as limited English proficient, as required under
the Texas Education Code, §29.063(c)(4).
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §89.1220 adopted to be effective September 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 5700; amended to be effective March 5, 1999, 24 TexReg 1383; amended to be effective April 18, 2002, 27 TexReg 3105 |
