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• League of United Latin American Citi­zens (LULAC)
• ASPIRA of Florida
• The Farmworkers' Association of Cen­tral Florida
• Florida State Conference of NAACP Branches
• Haitian Refugee Center
• Spanish American League Against Discrimination (SALAD)
• American Hispanic Educators' Association of Dade (AHEAD)
• Haitian Educators' Association

The Consent Decree settlement terms fo­cus on the following six issues:

1. Identification and assessment
2. Equal access to appropriate pro­gramming
3. Equal access to appropriate categorical and other programming for Limited English Proficient (LEP) students
4. Personnel
5. Monitoring
6. Outcome measures

Section I, Identification and assessment

Addresses six requirements: 1 home language survey, 2 formation of LEP Committees, 3 LEP student plan, 4 English language assessment, 5 classi­fication and reclassification, 6 post-reclassification monitoring.

1. Home language survey. The home language survey and national origin data of all students must be collected and retained in the school district. The home language survey may be included on the registration form or on a sepa­rate survey and must be administered to all students. The survey includes the following questions:
   1. Is a language other than English used in the home?
   2. Did the student have a first language other than English?
   3. Does the student most frequently speak a language other than English?
2. LEP Committee. The LEP Committee, a team comprised of ESOL teacher(s), home language teacher (if any), admin­istrator (or designee), parent(s), plus guidance counselor, social worker, school psychologist, or other educator(s) and is responsible for determining the eligibility of a student for an ESOL pro­gram.
3. LEP Student Plan. The LEP student plan is a written document which iden­tifies student name, instruction by pro­gram, including programs other than ESOL, amount of instructional time or schedule, date of LEP identification, and assessment data used to classify or re­classify as LEP, etc. Each student must have an individual copy of the plan maintained in his/her file.
4. English language assessment. Lan­guage assessment is required in the areas of listening comprehension, speak­ing, reading, and writing. Each student will also be assessed in the basic sub­ject areas (i.e. computer literacy, math, science, and social studies).
5. Classification and reclassification. Students classified as LEP continue to receive appropriate instruction until such time as the student is reclassified as English proficient, or otherwise exited from the ESOL program by the LEP Committee. Special weighted funding may extend up to six years; however, lack of ESOL funding does not relieve the school system of the obligation to provide such services.
6. Post-reclassification monitoring. The performance of students who have been exited from the ESOL program must be reviewed to identify any pat­tern of continuing underperformance on appropriate tests and/or grades. Such review occurs at the time of the student's first report card, semiannually during the first year after exiting, and at the end of the second year.

   Exemptions provided to LEP students:

   Students in grades 4 and 7, who have been in the program for two or fewer years may be exempted from participation in statewide assessment. School dis­tricts shall offer alternatives for measure­ment of minimum standards in these grades.

   Secondary students who failed to meet the 10th grade standards as measured by the SSAT I and II, shall be provided com­pensatory education for a "thirteenth" year of high school.

Section II, Equal access to appropriate programming

The primary goal of all such programming is to develop as effectively and efficiently as possible each child's English language proficiency and academic potential. Such programs should also provide positive reinforcement of the self-image and es­teem of participating students, promote cross-cultural understanding, and provide equal educational opportunities.

Equal access to appropriate programming must include both access to intensive English language instruction and instruc­tion in basic subject matter areas of math, science, social studies, computer literacy which is 1 understandable to the LEP student given his/her level of English lan­guage proficiency, and 2 equal and comparable in amount, scope, sequence, and quality to that provided to English proficient students. Recommendations for such programming shall be documented in the form of a LEP student plan, which shall be in conformity with this agreement.

Equal access to appropriate programming includes five requirements: 1 submis­sion of a district LEP plan, 2 provision of basic ESOL instruction, 3 provision of ESOL instruction and/or home language instructional strategies in basic subject areas, 4 identification of interim staffing and inservice measures, and 5 proce­dure/procedures for parental involvement.

1. District LEP Plan. School districts are required to submit a multi year LEP plan, to be updated and resubmitted every three years. Interim changes are sub­mitted for approval as amendments. The district LEP plan includes:
   • Standards for entry, exit, and post­reclassification monitoring,
   • Instructional, categorical, and student services
   • Provisions for and plans to employ qualified staff, and
   • Evidence of consultation with parent council or advisory body.
2. Basic ESOL instruction. Basic ESOL includes instruction in speaking, listen­ing, reading, and writing English in an instructional program appropriate to the proficiency level and academic poten­tial of the students.
3. ESOL instruction and home lan­guage instructional strategies in basic subject areas. Districts are re­quired to provide appropriate home lan­guage instruction (Curriculum content in the home language/bilingual curricu­lum content) or ESOL content instruc­tion (Curriculum content in English us­ing ESOL strategies), or a combination of the two, in science, social studies, mathematics, and computer literacy.
4. Identification of interim staffing and inservice measures. In recogni­tion that districts may not have appro­priately trained personnel to deliver basic ESOL instruction and understandable instruction in basic subject areas, the District LEP Plan must include in­terim measures which report the num­ber of students not appropriately served, documentation of recruitment and train­ing, a time-line for meeting staffing needs, and a plan for interim measures which must include inservice training, utilization of native language aides and materials to assure that the students are learning.
5. Parental involvement. Parental in­volvement and participation in LEP stu­dents' educational programming and academic achievement is required by formation of parent groups consisting of a majority of parents of LEP students. Such groups must be consulted prior to submission of the District LEP Plan to the state. Parents must be provided ap­propriate training by the school district.

Section III, Equal access to appropriate categorical and other programs for LEP students

Provides overall equal access requirements, such as a prohibition of denial of service because of a student's level of English proficiency, and a student's right to ac­cess whether the program is offered be­fore, during, or after the regular school day. Section III also includes special re­quirements with respect to ten categoricals and other programs/services for LEP stu­dents: 1 compensatory education, 2 exceptional student education, 3 drop­out prevention, 4 student services, 5 pre-kindergarten programs, 6 immi­grant students, 7 Chapter 1, 8 pre­first grade classes, 9 home-school com­munications, and 10 discipline.

1. Compensatory education. Require­ments under this section include both Chapter 1 basic and/or migrant educa­tion, as well as compensatory program­ming. Equal access is required for LEP students, as well as understandable instruction in a manner appropriate to the students' level of English proficiency. For Chapter 1 and state compensatory programming, an annual report is re­quired providing the number of stu­dents served, and services by race, na­tional origin, and limited English profi­ciency.
2. Exceptional student education. Re­quirements under this section apply both to handicapped and gifted stu­dents, and repeat equal access require­ments previously given for regular edu­cation of LEP students. Data are re­ported annually on the number of ex­ceptional students served by race, na­tional origin, limited English proficiency, and type of exceptional program. All requirements under Sections I and II are applicable to exceptional student education.
3. Dropout prevention. Three require­ments are given for dropout preven­tion programs and services: (a) equal access for LEP students, (b) annual report of the number of students served by dropout prevention programs by race, national origin, limited English proficiency, and type of service, and (c) LEP parent participation in the de­velopment of the district's comprehen­sive program plan for dropout preven­tion. LEP parent participation in the development of the comprehensive plan is a new dimension to this program.
4. Student services. Equal access to student services (e.g. counseling) is re­quired for LEP students, pursuant to F.S.(Florida Statute) Section 230.2313.
5. Pre-kindergarten programs. Equal access to pre-kindergarten programs is required for LEP students, including programs such as Head Start, Migrant Pre-Kindergarten, Pre-Kindergarten Early Intervention, and related programs. Required also is annual reporting of the number of LEP, racial and national ori­gin minority children eligible for and served by pre-kindergarten programs, indicating which programs they are served by. In order to meet these re­quirements, it is necessary to test all pre-K participants for English proficiency and pre-K LEP students must be pro­vided the services required by the Con­sent Decree.
6. Equal access for immigrant stu­dents. Free, equal, and unhindered access to appropriate schooling is re­quired for all immigrant students in com­pliance with a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling (Plyler vs. Doe). A number of prohibitions are itemized, such as not inquiring into student's/parents' immi­gration status for any educational pur­pose unless specifically authorized by law, not compiling or maintaining lists of students with alien registration num­bers and those without, not reporting students to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services, and not requir­ing students to obtain a federal social security number.
7. Chapter 1. Equal access is required for limited English proficient students who are within the targeted program, school, and/or area where the funds are expended. The district must report annually the number of students served by federal Chapter 1 programs and services by race, national origin, and limited English proficiency as provided for state student data base plan.
8. Pre-first grade classes. All pre-first grade classes must comply with appli­cable requirements of federal and state law, including (a) individualized assess­ment and appropriate provision for specific educational needs in the least restrictive environment, (b) the use of multiple valid and reliable criteria, and (c) appropriate parental participation and informed notice in the parent's primary language.
9. Home-school communications. All written and oral communications be­tween school personnel and parents of current or former LEP students are to be in the parents' primary language or other mode of communication com­monly used by the parents, unless clearly not feasible.
10. Discipline. No national origin minor­ity or limited English proficient student will be subjected to any disciplinary action because of his/her use of a lan­guage other than English.

Section IV, Personnel

Includes requirements in six areas: 0 certification and inservice, 0 certifica­tion required as appropriate coverage, 0 exemptions, 0 supply of personnel, 0 inservice evaluation, and 0 implemen­tation schedule for Section IV. Breakdown of inservice requirements as follows:

1. For teachers of basic ESOL or the pri­mary English and Language Arts who need the ESOL Endorsement with the appropriate coverage specified in the Course Code Directory, (teachers with no prior teaching experience and who teach English as a primary responsibil­ity), the ESOL Endorsement may only be shown on a valid full-time certificate with another coverage.
   The specialization requirements to add the ESOL Endorsement may be com­pleted by either 300 master plan points (MPP) or 15 college semester hours:
   • Methods of Teaching of ESOL
   • ESOL Curriculum and Materials
   • Development
   • Cross-Cultural Communication and
   • Understanding
   • Applied Linguistics
   • Testing and Evaluation of ESOL
2. For teachers who qualified for the ESOL Endorsement by the grandfather provi­sion specified in the Consent Decree Agreement (Teachers with at least 2 years ESL or home language strategies teaching experience prior to the 1990­91 school year):
• ESOL Issues and Strategies
3. For content area teachers teaching LEP students: mathematics, science, social studies, and computer literacy to LEP students using home language strategies (elementary* and second­ary* *)
   1. Home Language Strategies (el­ementary/secondary)
      * includes teachers of curriculum content in the home language, home language arts and Spanish for Speakers of Spanish
      **includes teachers of basic content curricu­lum, bilingual curriculum content.
4. For content area teachers teaching LEP students: mathematics, science, social studies, and computer literacy using ESOL strategies (elementary and sec­ondary). Includes elementary classroom teachers whose LEP students receive ESOL services from another teacher.
   • ESOL Issues and Strategies
5. For other subject areas i.e., art teach­ers, music teachers, physical education teachers, media specialists, guidance counselors, occupational specialists, exceptional education teachers***, teachers of foreign languages, voca­tional education teachers, speech/lan­guage pathologists, pre-kindergarten teachers.
   1. Issues/Strategies for Teaching LEP Students
      * * *The teaching responsibilities of the excep­tional education teacher determine the num­ber of in-service hours needed.

Section V, Monitoring Issues, and Section VI, Outcome Measures

Identify procedures to be followed by the Florida Department of Education in deter­mining the extent to which a school dis­trict complies with the requirements of the agreement and the extent to which stu­dent achievement is improved as a result of application of the implementation guidelines.

For more information about the Florida
Consent Decree contact:
Florida Department of Education
Office of Multicultural Student
Language Education
Bernardo Garcia
325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 544A
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
904/487-8533.