Policy 2110 - Transitional Bilingual Instruction

The Richland School District’s Board of Directors has the highest commitment toward ensuring an equal educational opportunity for every student. While English is the basic language of instruction in the District’s schools, the District will provide a Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program for children whose primary language is not English, and whose English skills are sufficiently deficient or absent and impair learning. The District’s Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program is designed to enable students to achieve competency in English.

Changes to the District’s Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program will require school board approval.

The District and its staff shall:

1. Communicate with parents/family members of students who are English language learners in a language they can understand in accordance with Policy 4218 – Language Access;
2. Assess and determine, by means of a state approved placement test, student eligibility within 10 days of enrollment and attendance;
3. Annually assess, by means of state approved test, improvement in English language proficiency for each eligible English language learner;
4. Provide professional development for administrators, teachers, counselors, and other staff who are involved in the District’s Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program, appropriate use of instructional strategies and assessment results, and curriculum and instructional materials for use with culturally and linguistically diverse students; and
5. Provide for continuous improvement and evaluation of the District’s program to determine its effectiveness.

For purposes of providing such services, the superintendent or designee will establish procedures for implementing the district’s Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program.

Legal References:

Adoption: