Schools must keep serving English learners during pandemic, federal ed officials say

STAMFORD, - MARCH 17: Bilingual teacher Maria Sanislo (R) explains a Google Chromebook to a family at KT Murphy Elementary School on March 17, 2020 in Stamford, Connecticut. Stamford Public Schools closed last week to help slow the spread of COVID-19, and students are now "distance learning" from home. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

Schools that have switched to remote learning can’t give up on language services for their students learning English, the federal education department reminded school districts this week.

New guidance, published Monday by the U.S. Department of Education, answers questions facing schools serving the nation’s some 5 million English learners during the coronavirus pandemic, which has closed schools across the country. 

The department already gave states permission to skip one critical requirement: giving an annual English proficiency exam. But the guidance goes into more detail about how schools might make up those tests next year, decide what kinds of classes students should be placed in this fall, and handle students who might have “tested out” of language services this spring.

The guidance comes two months after schools began closing, several weeks after the department clarified schools’ responsibilities to students with disabilities, and as some school districts are wrapping up their academic years. But it could help districts still confused about their responsibilities and districts planning how they will serve English learners in the fall.

Here are a few takeaways:

  • The basics: If a school district is providing remote learning to students, it must provide language support to English learners. Department officials say they understand “during this national emergency, schools may not be able to provide all services in the same manner they are typically provided.” 
  • What learning looks like: School districts should continue providing support similar to what they had provided before school buildings closed, the guidance suggests. If a traditional classroom teacher and an ESL teacher usually teamed up to provide accommodations for a student, for example, they should try to do so now, collaborating virtually or by phone. Instruction can happen by phone, online, or through written assignments, with language services provided “to the greatest extent possible.”
  • Showing proficiency: Schools can’t remove a student’s English learner status “unless the student has demonstrated proficiency on a valid and reliable assessment” of their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Department officials say if schools weren’t able to give those proficiency assessments before school buildings closed, they can give them in the fall.
  • Screening students for services: Districts teaching students remotely are still required to screen new students to see whether they require English language services within 30 days. That screening can be done remotely. 
  • What might have changed: Department officials caution that English learners’ progress may have stalled. Schools should be on the lookout for students whose English language proficiency decreased “because they may have experienced limited instruction for an extended time during the school closures.” Students who were close to being classified as proficient may now need more support, and students who already took the proficiency assessment and were set to stop receiving English services in the coming school year should be closely monitored in case they need additional help or need to be re-classified as English learners.

Read the guidance here.

The Latest

More than 1,450 staff at schools were laid off Friday. Budget documents posted online indicate the school-based workforce could shrink by more than 450 positions.

SNAP-Ed, which funds nutrition programs across New York City, will expire Sept. 30. Without it, families may have less fresh produce — and advocates worry about increased child hunger.

The money funds programs that support English language learners, tutoring, STEM education, before- and after-school services, summer school, and teacher training.

The City-County Council is weighing a longer curfew after recent gun violence that left five teenagers dead. Eleven local superintendents said the proposal ‘is not about punishment — it’s about prevention.’

An appellate court judge granted a motion to take up the school segregation case, which could bring a resolution sooner than if the case remained in trial court.

Some Detroit youth say they avoid large gatherings of young people because they fear fights will break out.