Understanding English Language is one of the requirements for most schools in the United States. Most of the instruction in classes is given in English and a student ought to understand to avoid disadvantaging them in class. This essay discusses the Classification of English Language Learners by using the Home Language Survey.
The English Language Learners (ELLs) is a program that helps improve the students' knowledge and skills in the English language. The aim is to help the Non-English speaking students compete favorably with the rest of the students. With the Home Language Survey, schools are required to understand the native languages of the students who attend the school. There are two ways of assessing the learners; subjecting them to a home language surveys (HLS) before proving them with language proficiency tests. The HLS is meant to determine the number students who need to develop their English skills. The next paragraph discusses the legal issues that arise from the classifications.
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According to the "Home-Language Surveys for ELLs Under Fire" (2010), the main issue facing the use of HLS is the categorization of some people who do not quality as ELLs. Sometimes, parents have had to raise their voices and highlight the concerns for their children to be allowed to move onto the next level and integrate fully with others. The classification of students as ELLs has been under the scrutiny of stakeholders to ensure that no student is subjected the ELL program even though they deserve better.
Several laws and Supreme Court cases have been used or referred to when solving educational issues that affect the ELLs. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits the discrimination against people because of skin color, race, the nation of origin and religion in federal funded institutions (Smith, 2016). All Americans have the equal opportunity to learn in public schools. In Lau v. Nichols Supreme Court case (1974), the court ruled that the school system had violated the Civil Rights Act by denying Chinese students a chance to learn English (Lau v. Nichols, (1974), n.d). In 1974, the minorities in America found solace in the passage of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (Smith, 2016). The act prohibits educational institutions from discriminating against race, skin color and nation of origin. It also compels schools to provide English lessons for non-natives to help bring them to the same level as the rest. In 1982, the Supreme Court made a ruling that scrapped Texas' statute to withhold funds for children of illegal immigrants. The law was termed as a violation of the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment ("Plyler v. Doe". n.d). The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 was passed to help the students who have limited proficiency in English. Schools are required to offer native instructions in another language that the student understands. In 1923, the Supreme Court ruled that Nebraska's statute prohibiting the use of foreign language in schools violated the 14th Amendment's Due Process clause ("Meyer v. State of Nebraska", n.d). In 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act was passed into law. The Act required all states and schools to be more interested in issues affecting the poor and minority students and ensure that they also succeed and graduate (Smith, 2016). ELL is meant to provide a better ground for the no English speaking students succeed as the rest in exams and proceed to the next educational levels.
HLS is a good method of determining students who need support in English proficiency skills so as to help them get the best in class level. HLS also needs to be reviewed such that only those who cannot comprehend English well are subjected to ELL.
References
Home-Language Surveys for ELLs Under Fire. (2016). Retrieved April 15, 2017 from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/02/16/22homelanguage_ep.h29.html
Lau v. Nichols, (1974). (n.d). Retrieved April 15, 2017 from http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/414/563.html
Meyer v. State of Nebraska (n.d). Retrieved March 29, 2017. https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/262us390
Plyler v. Doe. (n.d). Retrieved April 15, 2017 from https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/457/202
Smith, N. (2016). English as a Second Language: Legal Issues. Cumberland County Schools. http://esl.ccs.k12.nc.us/legal-issues/
