Policy 2162 - 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.
The District and its staff shall:
A. Communicate, when feasible, with parents of English language learners in a language they can understand;
B. Assess and determine, by means of a state approved placement test, student eligibility within 10 days of enrollment and attendance;
C. Annually assess, by means of state approved test, improvement in English language proficiency for each eligible English language learner;
D. Offer 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 for students of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and on the use of curriculum materials and program models; and
E. Provide for continuous improvement and evaluation of the District’s program to determine its effectiveness.
Legal References:
RCW 28A.180. Transitional Bilingual Instructional Program
WAC 392-160 Transitional Bilingual Instructional Program
WAC 162-28-040 English language limitations and national origin discrimination
Adoption:
Approved: February 28, 1984
Revised: January 8, 1985
Revised: March 24, 2009
Revised: October 27, 2015