After a four year investigation, the largest school district in New Jersey, Newark, violated federal and civil right laws when the district did not perform proper screening when identifying English language learners. Among the problems, the district under-identified students who required language support, placed English learners in schools without adequate services, and failed to hire and retain enough qualified teachers (Wall, 2021). The district’s practices left some English learners with little or no language services and removed others from ESL programs prematurely (Wall, 2021).Newark’s programs and services for English learners violate the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974, which says schools must remove any language barriers that limit students’ access to instruction (Wall, 2021). In conclusion, the school district settled and made adjustments to their curriculum to comply with federal law. The school district recognized ESL in the English learning curriculum. 

This article is critical when evaluating the effectiveness of ESL programs in a school district. It’s imperative that teachers and school administrators are held accountable for providing equal learning experiences to all students. Providing special programs to advance English language proficiency is a federal requirement. It is the role of a principal to ensure that all students are receiving a high quality education. Students who have language barriers need additional support in order to strengthen English language proficiency. 

The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District created the 7-11 committee in 2020 which suggested closing Georgia Brown Elementary School, a dual immersion Spanish language magnet program, due to infrastructure issues. Paso People’s Action co-founder Yessenia Echevarria repeatedly raised concerns over lack of representation.During a school board meeting, Echevarria strongly criticized the Spanish translation services provided to her while she addressed the board virtually. School board president, Chris Arend, responded with, “ This was idiocy, this woman speaks fluent English and she has now wasted another roughly five minutes of our time to grandstand here,” said Arend. “I am speaking like a member here.” The California Department of Education noted 35% of the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District’s student population are English learners (Buccio, 2021). 

According to the Every Student Succeeds Act, states that local education agencies (LEAs) must provide information to parents in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language that the parent can understand. (20 U.S.C. § 6301 (2015)). The plaintiffs in the lawsuit stated the school district’s deliberate negligence caused purpose-driven pain. The damage they’ve caused will have long-term impacts on the community and affect everything from educational equity to political participation (Buccio, 2021).By denying Latinx parents the opportunity to participate in its advisory committee and by not providing adequate interpretation services at its board meetings, the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District violated these laws, silenced its community members, and engaged in unlawful discrimination (Buccio, 2021).

Connection to topic: English Language Learners
It is required that local education agencies (LEAs) must provide information to parents in an understandable and uniform format in language that the parent can understand. Parent’s who do not speak English have the right to receive the information in the language spoken at home. Accommodations are administered to help alleviate those language barriers. When derogatory comments are made and discriminatory language occurs, laws are broken. It’s the responsibility of any education institution to protect parents and students who have not mastered English Language proficiency. 

Elementary and Secondary Education (Title VII-Bilingual Education Act) of 1968, 20 U.S.C. 880B-6

Texas Administrative Code, 19 TAC§89.1210

Full text of law

Castaneda v. Pickard 648 F.2d 989 5th Cir. 1981

Full text of law

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