Eligibility Requirements

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS TO IDENTIFY STUDENTS AS ELL
The procedures established for the identification and assessment of EnglishLearners (ELs) follow the regulations of the State of Connecticut Bilingual Education statutes and regulations.  These include the following processes:
 
 
I. PROCESS FOR THE PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF DOMINANT LANGUAGE 

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  1. The completion of the Home Language Survey (HLS)  by parents/guardians

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  Parents must fill out a Home Language Survey upon registration in the school district.  Three questions are included in the HLS as follow:

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      1. What language did your child first learn to speak?
      2. What is the primary language spoken by the adults at home?
      3. What is the primary language spoken by your child when he or she is at home?

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  The student’s home dominant language is the language, which satisfies two out of the three criteria in the HLS. In addition, parents must identify country of origin.  

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  It is through this procedure that the bilingual office is informed of the entrance of students who might be eligible for services and who are in need of further assessment.

 
II. PROCESS FOR ASSESSING STUDENTS FOR ENGLISH PROFIENCY  
 

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    Once the parent has stated that at least 1/3 language proficiency related questions in the HLS is a language other than English, the student is assessed for English proficiency. The grade-appropriate Language Assessment System (LAS) measuring oral language skills, reading, and writing in English, is administered.  If the student scores a English Language Proficiency Level below 4 or 5 on the LAS Assessment Scale the parent will be offered  all the available programtic options in our district. It is the parent’s option to request or refuse services. A Spanish assessment is not completed unless there is a special request.  For students enrolled in Headstart or any other pre-school centers, the Pre-LAS test is administered in English in the spring of each year in preparation for entry into kindergarten.  During the summer, one on-site bilingual assessor/clerk is available to assess those entering Kindergartens who were not in preschool programs and other students entering to all other grades for the upcoming academic year.  The standardized tool used to determine language proficiency in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, is the Pre-LAS, LAS, and/or LAS-Links depending on the time of the year that the student enters the District.   
     

III. PROCESS & CRITERIA FOR FINAL IDENTIFICATION OF A STUDENT AS ELL 
 

The student is considered to be an English Learner (EL) and eligible for the bilingual or ESL program when:

•   As indicated by LAS outcome data, the student is non-English or limited English proficient and, thus, unable to communicate well enough too participate fully in the all-English program;
  • • The student falls in language proficiency categories 1 through 3 (non-speaker or limited speaker) on the LAS Oral, and levels 1 or 2 on LAS Reading and Writing.