Education

Education is seen as a right within the United States, every child has the opportunity to receive a free education. If there are language barriers in the education system then it leads to differences between LEP and English speaking students in academic achievement. Schools should have programs in place to guarantee that each student is able to thrive within the school system.

Legal Requirements

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) are both responsible for ensuring that schools are following Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which protects LEP individuals from discrimination in terms of access to federally funded programs, including public education. In the educational context LEP students are being referred to as English Learners (EL) and schools need to be taking steps to ensure that these students can meaningfully participate at an equal level to English speaking students. Congress also enacted the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA), which reiterated that public schools and State educational agencies (SEAs) must take steps to remove language barriers that disrupt meaningful education for EL students. The Departments evaluate a school’s program concerning EL students based on a set of standards outlined below:

1. The educational theory underlying the language assistance program is recognized as sound by some experts in the field or is considered a legitimate experimental strategy
2. The program and practices used by the school system are reasonably calculated to implement effectively the educational theory adopted by the school
3. The program succeeds, after a legitimate trial, in producing results indicating that students’ language barriers are actually being overcome within a reasonable period of time.
4. If schools receive subgrants from their SEA then they must also ensure that EL students are receiving scientifically based, high quality language instruction  to read, write, listen, and speak English according to State standards
5. Parents who do not speak English also have rights in terms of language access within their child’s school, information can be found here: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/dcl-factsheet-lep-parents-201501.pdf

More information on standards can be found at these websites: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2015/01/07/eldcleng.pdf

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/dcl-factsheet-el-students-201501.pdf

Consequences of Inadequate Language Access in Education

In the United States most school instruction is given in English. If LEP students are not given access to language resources and programs then they will not receive the same benefits from school instruction as their English speaking counterparts. This difference in educational outcomes is a form of discrimination based on national origin, because English speakers are given an advantage in academic achievement. Programs should help to bridge this gap by creating effective programs to make sure that LEP students are able to have a meaningful education.

Below are some examples of the consequences of inadequate language access in education:

• A study of English Language Learners (ELLs) found that these students are not given the same access to college preparatory courses as  compared to English speaking students. This qualitative case study at a large public high school revealed that the courses available to ELLs are limited putting them at a disadvantage in terms of receiving a rigorous education. This study demonstrates that ELL students are not given the same high-level academic opportunities as English speaking students, which leads to other disadvantages such as access to higher education and well-paying jobs.
• https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831214544716
• Researchers also evaluated different evaluations of language programs within schools and found that programs could actually create barriers for English Learner (EL) students as opposed to getting rid of them. The problems that programs faced were what criteria classifies as student as EL, what language should be used in EL instruction, EL students are not given equitable instruction for core subjects, and if statewide assessments are valid and reliable for EL populations. This study also gives recommendations on how to tackle challenge found within current language access programs for EL students.
• https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732215623553

The education system is tasked with equipping individuals with the tools they will need in other opportunities in their life. If students are not able to receive high-quality education than it can disrupt access to other opportunities for these students. These differences are not just happening between schools but LEP students are receiving a lower quality education than the rest of their peers. This is why equatable language programs are classified as a form of discrimination because simply being English speaking gives students an unearned advantage in educational opportunities and academic achievement. To file a complaint to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights go to www.ed.gov/ocr/complaintintro.html.

Strategies For Improving Language Access in Education

• Determine an educational theory for increasing language access to LEP students that is based on evidence.
• Make sure that the policies and practices that the school adopts follow the chosen theoretical framework.
• Determine which vital documents need to be translated and in what languages.
• Check the reliability of statewide assessments and modify to better accommodate the experiences of LEP students.
• Rely on teamwork between bilingual and English speaking staff to make sure that parents of LEP students are receiving the same information that English speaking parents receive.
• Evaluate the class instruction of LEP students to make sure it is meeting educational standards and creating the same opportunities for LEP students as English speaking students.