Legal & Ethical Guide - English Language Learners by Cristina Garcia https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c en-us 2021-07-21 06:07:15 UTC 2026-03-22 20:20:20 UTC hello@padlet.com https://www.acq-intl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Kettani-Law-Firm-1.jpg Slide 1: Professional Perspective/ Audience/Topic cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656865170 The topic I have chosen is English Language Learners (ELLs). My professional perspective is an elementary-level school counselor, and the audience I am concentrating on is K-12 teachers. I have chosen English Language Learners as my topic because, living in a predominantly Hispanic area, I need to be aware of our student population's rights. I want to help our educators understand how to support these students and guide them in any way. ]]> 2021-07-21 06:30:48 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656865170 Slide 2: Summary of Topic cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656866160 In the elementary level of public education, I have encountered many English Language Learners in my district, and statistically, numbers continue to rise every year. This legal guide is crucial for teachers to know how to support our ELLs academically. At the same time, the school counselor concentrates on social-emotional and college/career support. They will also learn how the United States has created laws that prevent public education from discriminating against them. Current issues that ELLs face are fewer English language models, culture shock, time constraints, and unclear background knowledge (Vecchiarelli, 2019). ]]> 2021-07-21 06:32:16 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656866160 Slide 3: Professional Association cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656871394 The article I chose is from VISTASOnline, and counselors sponsored by American Counseling Association compose them. The feature explains how the ELL population has increased every year throughout the United States. They also face hardships that sometimes impede their path to higher education. These adversities include insufficient resources to teach ELLs, socio-emotional injustice, financial strains or poverty, immigration concerns, and lack of parent involvement by cause of lack of education (Perez & Morrison, 2016). It also presents ways that the school counselor can effectively support ELLs. ]]> 2021-07-21 06:39:34 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656871394 Slide 4: News Article 1 cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656871624 Education Week: English-Learners May Need More Support This Fall. But that doesn’t mean they’re behind (Najarro, 2021).
  • This is a case study that focuses on “Ana,” an English learner who, after a year, will be returning to in-person instruction in the fall. About 5 million English-language learners in the United States and three-quarters of this population speak Spanish. During the pandemic, most of these Hispanic communities had many setbacks, including limited access to technology (internet and computers).
  • Teachers need to have a positive mindset for the students that return and not make assumptions leading straight to remediation. They should find ways to scaffold and start where they are and progress from there. Educators need to use formal and informal data such as assessments done throughout the past year and create individualized plans for these students. Once the teacher understands where these students stand, they still need to be exposed to rigorous, grade-level material simultaneously taught to their peers.
  • After-school programs could also help extend some of these assignments introduced in class, such as writing assignments focused on vocabulary that is still unclear to the student. Other programs in the districts could help reteach content that was misinterpreted in the classroom. Activities such as jigsaw reading will have students work cooperatively and execute one part of the assignment while teaching others in the group about it. Students who are fully proficient in their native language can learn the other language quicker even though they continue to be versed in their native language. Although some students are not capable in either language, it is difficult for both teachers and students. 
  • The pandemic demonstrated how poorly the district connects with the parents of these ELLs. Many of these students’ parents are uninformed because the campus only presents or notifies parents in one language. The continuation of technology needs to be implemented, mainly if it was adequate for these students. Lastly, supporting these students in a social-emotional way because many of them have lost family or homes while dealing with the struggles of school being in-and-out of campus. 
]]> 2021-07-21 06:39:52 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656871624 Slide 5: News Article 2 cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656871909 National Education Association: Linguistic Discrimination Still Lingers in Many Classrooms (Alvarez, 2020).  
  • This article speaks about the linguistic inequity that students are exposed to throughout their academic careers.  Even though various research studies explain how being multilingual is an advantage, yet some schools and neighborhoods still experience this discrimination.
  • 2019: A substitute teacher is documented telling a Spanish-speaking student to speak English. 2020: In Boston, a mother and daughter were assaulted for speaking Spanish as they walked home.
  • “English-only policy and rhetoric are rooted in historical racism and white supremacy culture of the U.S.” (Alvarez, 2020, para. 9). The United States does not have an appointed language even though 31 states have declared English their official one. 
  • The effect of this is that immigrant children are immersed in English even though they never really learned their native language proficiently. Therefore, many immigrants feel they must conform to America's lifestyle and leave everything they know because it is unacceptable. 
  • English-only laws degrade people and create a disastrous environment.  “Linguistic oppression is traumatic to children, and research underscores how speaking more than one language not only improves brain functionality but helps English language learners become proficient in English” (Alvarez, 2020, para. 13).
  • Students with a different native language and then learning English can readily develop their academic skills in both languages and transfer information from one language to another. 
  • Educators who merge students’ native language in the classroom will improve the phonological perception, establishing a highly developed identity and assurance. 
]]> 2021-07-21 06:40:12 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656871909 Slide 6: Original Source of Law 1 cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656872301 (Federal Statutory Law) 
  • Restricts discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in any affairs or projects that are financially supported by Federal funds, including education departments and school districts.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §2000d et. seq.
]]> 2021-07-21 06:40:41 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656872301 Slide 7: Original Source of Law 2 cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656872593 (Federal Judicial Law) 
  • This Supreme Court case aided non-native English-speaking students to receive bilingual instruction to improve their English language proficiency and secure equal education (Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563, 1974).
]]> 2021-07-21 06:41:06 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656872593 Slide 8: Original Source of Law 3 cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656872856 (Federal Statutory Law) 
  • The purpose was to provide federal funds to the states and districts for disadvantaged students that have been overlooked or neglected.
  • The four most prominent modifications that schools will establish are:
    • Identifying English Learners (ELs): a systematic process for classifying English Learners and designate student services where children will eventually exit the program toward general education.
    •  State-mandated Assessments: this law extricates districts from appraising any recently arrived students that do not speak English in their framework obligation. 
    • English Proficiency: Title I, accountability framework, grants money to uphold low-income students predominantly, and with this law, schools are required to build English proficiency standards. Current English learners are linked together with ELs that have been out of the program for at least four years, and together they make the ELLs population.
    • Accountability of schools: Schools need to make sure all population groups are receiving high ratings and not failing under this law. If ELLs fail, then the schools will be flagged and need an improvement plan to enforce an outline of how they will rise again. It does not matter if the school is high-performing in other areas.
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), 20 U.S. C. §6301(2015). 
]]> 2021-07-21 06:41:25 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656872856 Slide 9: Original Source of Law 4 cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656873061 (State Statutory Law) 
  •  All Texas public schools were mandated to provide bilingual instruction if they had 20 students or more with limited English proficiency. It also eradicated the English-only instruction used at the time (Tex. Educ. Code §21.451).
]]> 2021-07-21 06:41:42 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656873061 Slide 10: Local Administrative Law/ Policy/Rule cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656873404
  • The Los Fresnos Consolidated School District Elementary Student Handbook (2020) states, “a student who is an English learner (EL) is entitled to receive specialized services from the district. The Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) will decide if a student qualifies for services, and their parent must consent to the services recommended. A variety of assessments will determine the student’s level of proficiency in English. The LPAC will assign instructional accommodations or additional special programs for the student and require them to become proficient at grade level performance.  The State-mandated exams will be analyzed to see if the student needs certain accommodations. The student will also continuously take assessments to determine if they should remain in the program. The Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) will also be administered to English learners who qualify for services.  If a student is an English learner and is also serviced in special education, the ARD committee will make instructional and assessment decisions in conjunction with the LPAC” (p. 50).
    • ]]>     2021-07-21 06:42:10 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656873404     Slide 11: Ethical Principle cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656873824 ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors (2016) 
    • A. Responsibility to Students:
      •  A.1 Supporting Student Development
        • E. are concerned with students’ academic, career, and social/emotional needs and encourage each student’s maximum development. (ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors, 2016, p. 1)
    I chose this ethical principle because it is a broad statement that encompasses everything a school counselor will do to support her student population. Najarro (2021) specified that academics, after-school programs, higher-quality technology, parental involvement, and social-emotional support would strengthen the rapport between the educators and ELLs. School counselors can collectively bring educators, ELLs, and the rest of the school community to work in unison for the utmost comprehensive progression in our students.
    ]]>     2021-07-21 06:42:40 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656873824     Slide 12: Non-Law Source cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656874004 This is a Texas Education Agency portal for educators, parents, and community members who would like to learn about English Learners in Texas. 
    •  https://www.txel.org/Educators: This section of the website “provides educators with a variety of resources that will positively impact efforts to ensure equity and the academic success of English Learners” (Supporting English Learners in Texas, 2021).

    • https://www.txel.org/Parents-And-Families: This section of the website “provides you and your family with information and resources in the pages below to ensure the academic success of your child” (Supporting English Learners In Texas, 2021).
    ]]>     2021-07-21 06:42:56 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656874004     Slide 13: Recommendations/Best Practices for Compliance cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656874240 Six essential strategies for teaching English Language Learners (Kaplan, 2019). 
    • Cultivate relationships and be culturally responsive
    • Teach language skills across the curriculum
    • Emphasize productive language
    • Speak slowly and increase wait time
    • Differentiate-use multiple modalities
    • Incorporate Students’ Native language-don’t be afraid of technology

    Compliance Practice for ELLs: 
    What legal obligations do schools have to English Language Learners (ELLs)? (National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, n.d.).

    Federal Law is violated if:
    • Students are excluded from effective participation in school because of their inability to speak and understand the language of instruction.
    • National origin minority students are inappropriately assigned to special education classes because of their lack of English skills.
    • Programs for students whose English is less than proficient are not designed to teach them English as soon as possible, or if these programs operate as a dead-end track; or
    • Parents whose English is limited do not receive school notices or other information in a language they can understand.
     
    School Districts need to provide the following guidelines when serving ELLs effectively:
    • Identify students as potential ELLs.
    • Assess student's need for ELL services.
    • Develop a program that has a reasonable chance for success in the view of experts in the field.
    • Ensure that necessary staff, curricular materials, and facilities are in place and used correctly.
    • Develop appropriate evaluation standards, including program exit criteria, for measuring students' progress; and
    • Assess the program's success and modify it where needed.
    ]]>     2021-07-21 06:43:14 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656874240     cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656875635 2021-07-21 06:45:12 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656875635 cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656875692 2021-07-21 06:45:17 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656875692 cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656875815 2021-07-21 06:45:27 UTC https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1656875815 References cgarcia1371 https://padlet.com/cgarcia1371/lww6q3h7tfwvmr3c/wish/1657424535 Alvarez, B. (2020, May 19). Linguistic discrimination still lingers in many classrooms. National Education Association. https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/linguistic-discrimination-still-lingers-many-classrooms

    American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/f041cbd0-7004-47a5-ba01-3a5d657c6743/Ethical-Standards.pdf  

    Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), 20 U.S. C. §6301(2015). https://www.congress.gov/114/plaws/publ95/PLAW-114publ95.pdf

    Kaplan, E. (2019, April 12). Six essential strategies for teaching English Language Learners. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/6-essential-strategies-teaching-english-language-learners

    Los Fresnos Consolidated School District. (2020, August 10). 2020-2021 Elementary student handbook. https://4.files.edl.io/e2a7/10/08/20/190833-24ed21bf-368a-4acb-a6ae-8adbf132c710.pdf

    Najarro, I. (2021, June 22). English-Learners may need more support this fall. But that doesn’t mean they’re behind. Education Week.  https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/english-learners-may-need-more-support-this-fall-but-that-doesnt-mean-theyre-behind/2021/06

    National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition. (n.d.). What legal obligations do schools have to English Language Learners (ELLs)? https://ncela.ed.gov/faqs/view/6

    1974 Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563 (Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563, 1974) https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/1973/72-6520_12-10-1973.pdf 

    Perez, C. & Morrison, S. (2016). Understanding the challenges English Language Learners and increasing college-going culture: Suggestions for school counselors. VISTASOnline. https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/vistas/article_81_2016.pdf?sfvrsn=abe2482c_4 

    Supporting English Learners in Texas. (n.d.). Educators. Texas Education Agency. https://www.txel.org/Educators 

    Supporting English Learners in Texas. (n.d.). Parents and families. Texas Education Agency. https://www.txel.org/Parents-And-Families 

    Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §2000d et. seq., https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2010-title42/pdf/USCODE-2010-title42-chap21-subchapV.pdf

    Texas Education Code Section 21.451 Texas Bilingual Education and Training Act (S.B. 121) of 1973 (Tex. Educ. Code §21.451) https://lrl.texas.gov/scanned/sessionLaws/63-0/SB_121_CH_392.pdf 

    Title 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Rule §89.1201, Policy (19 TAC §89.1201) https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=2&ch=89&rl=1201

    Vecchiarelli, J. (2019, April 19). 4 Challenges ESL learners face. ProLiteracy. https://www.proliteracy.org/Blogs/Article/421/4-Challenges-ESL-Learners-Face 
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