Bill > A4988

Introduced Session

This bill establishes the Office of Bilingual and English Language Learner Education (office) in the Department of Education. The objective of the office is to provide targeted support to students from Latino, Hispanic, and other non-English speaking communities in an effort to ensure equitable access to educational opportunities. The bill directs the Commissioner of Education to appoint an executive director of the office who is required to devote full-time to the performance of the duties of the office and who is to receive a salary as fixed by the commissioner. Under the bill, the office is required to include divisions dedicated to curriculum development, teacher training, student support services, and community outreach. The duties of the office include, at a minimum: (1) creating and overseeing bilingual education programs tailored to meet the needs of students from Latino, Hispanic, and other non-English speaking communities; (2) providing ongoing training and professional development opportunities for educators to enhance their ability to support bilingual and English language learner students; (3) offering academic support and counseling services to bilingual and English language learner students; (4) developing and distributing parental resources; (5) developing initiatives to engage parents and community members in the academic process; (6) overseeing compliance with relevant federal and State laws and regulations; and (7) developing a central repository for all Department of Education bilingual and English language learner resources. The bill requires the office to develop and maintain an Internet website within 60 days of the effective date of the bill and to provide information on the website in the five most common languages spoken in the State. Under the bill, each school district in the State is required to annually submit a report to the department detailing the enrollment, progress, and outcomes of bilingual and English language learner students enrolled in each school in the district. The department is then required to analyze the data provided by the school district to assess the effectiveness of the school district's bilingual and English language learner programs and identify areas for improvement. If the department determines that a school is not compliant with federal or State laws and regulations governing bilingual and English language learner students, the bill requires the school to develop a corrective active plan to ensure compliance. The school is required to present the corrective action plan to the board of education and the department, and to annually review and revise the corrective action plan until the department determines the school is in compliance with applicable federal and State laws and regulations. Under the bill, the executive director of the office is to annually submit a report to the commissioner that includes a summary of any bilingual and English language learner programs developed or offered by the office, services provided, community engagement programs offered, information on school district reporting required under the bill, and any recommendations the executive director deems appropriate and necessary for ensuring the academic success of bilingual and English language learner students.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Carmen Morales (D)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee (on 10/24/2024)

Official Document