Bill Text: NY A05924 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires school districts to establish a language assistance program for limited English proficient parents of students; requires record keeping and annual reporting; permits districts to jointly establish such programs.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-04 - referred to education [A05924 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-A05924-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         5924
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                     March 2, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced by M. of A. KAVANAGH -- read once and referred to the Commit-
         tee on Education
       AN  ACT  to  amend  the  education  law, in relation to requiring public
         school districts to provide language  assistance  to  limited  English
         proficient parents of students
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new
    2  subdivision 42 to read as follows:
    3    42. A. ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHALL ESTABLISH    A  LANGUAGE  ASSISTANCE
    4  PROGRAM  WHERE  LIMITED  ENGLISH PROFICIENT PARENTS WOULD HAVE EFFECTIVE
    5  ACCESS TO COMMUNICATE WITH TEACHERS AND SCHOOL PERSONNEL.  THIS  COMPRE-
    6  HENSIVE PROGRAM SHALL INCLUDE, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO:
    7    (1) PROVIDING THAT ALL FREQUENTLY USED FORMS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERI-
    8  ALS  THAT  ARE  SENT HOME TO LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT PARENTS IN THEIR
    9  PRIMARY LANGUAGE;
   10    (2)  PROVIDING  LANGUAGE  ASSISTANCE  TO  LIMITED  ENGLISH  PROFICIENT
   11  PARENTS  IN  THEIR  PRIMARY  LANGUAGE  WHO CALL OR COME INTO SCHOOL WITH
   12  CONCERNS RELATED TO THEIR CHILD'S SCHOOLING;
   13    (3) PROVIDING LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE SERVICES TO LIMITED  ENGLISH  PROFI-
   14  CIENT  PARENTS IN THEIR PRIMARY LANGUAGE TO FACILITATE PARENT ATTENDANCE
   15  AT SCHOOL-SPONSORED PROGRAMS DESIGNED  FOR  COMMUNICATION  WITH  PARENTS
   16  INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND
   17  SCHOOL FAIRS.
   18    B.  A  NOTICE  OF THE AVAILABILITY OF THE LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
   19  FOR LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT PARENTS ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH
   20  A OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE MAILED  TO  THE  HOMES  OF  SUCH  LIMITED
   21  ENGLISH  PROFICIENT  PARENTS  IN  A  NOTICE  WRITTEN  IN  THEIR  PRIMARY
   22  LANGUAGE.
   23    C. EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL KEEP A RECORD DOCUMENTING  ITS  LANGUAGE
   24  ASSISTANCE  PROGRAM  AND  SHALL  SUBMIT A SUMMARY REPORT ANNUALLY TO THE
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD00033-01-1
       A. 5924                             2
    1  COMMISSIONER. SUCH RECORD AND REPORT SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT  BE  LIMITED
    2  TO:
    3    (1)  THE NUMBER OF LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT PARENTS WHO RECEIVE SUCH
    4  ASSISTANCE;
    5    (2) THE NUMBER OF LIMITED  ENGLISH  PROFICIENT  HOUSEHOLDS  WHERE  ONE
    6  PARENT IS ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENT; AND
    7    (3)  THE  NUMBER  OF  COMPLAINTS  FILED  BY LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT
    8  PARENTS; AND
    9    (4) THE NUMBER OF BILINGUAL PERSONNEL USED TO ASSIST IN  THE  LANGUAGE
   10  ASSISTANCE AND TRANSLATION SERVICES.
   11    D. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROMULGATE SUCH RULES AND REGULATIONS AS MAY
   12  BE NECESSARY AND PROPER TO IMPLEMENT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION,
   13  INCLUDING  BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE METHODOLOGY TO BE USED BY EACH SCHOOL
   14  DISTRICT TO DETERMINE OR ASSESS THE PRIMARY  LANGUAGES,  THE  NUMBER  OF
   15  LIMITED  ENGLISH  PROFICIENT  PARENTS, THE PERCENTAGE OF LIMITED ENGLISH
   16  PROFICIENT PARENTS TO STUDENTS AND THE NATIVE LANGUAGE OF  SUCH  LIMITED
   17  ENGLISH PROFICIENT PARENTS, AND A COMPLAINT PROCEDURE FOR ANY PARENT WHO
   18  ALLEGES  A  SCHOOL'S NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVI-
   19  SION.
   20    E. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION:
   21    (1) "PRIMARY LANGUAGE" MEANS ONE OF THE FIVE MOST COMMON LANGUAGES  IN
   22  A  SCHOOL  DISTRICT, OTHER THAN ENGLISH, (I) SPOKEN AND USED TO COMMUNI-
   23  CATE, BY LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT PARENTS AND (II) NON-ENGLISH  SPEAK-
   24  ING  RESIDENTS  OR  LIMITED  ENGLISH PROFICIENT PARENTS CONSTITUTES MORE
   25  THAN FIVE PERCENT OF THE RESIDENTS OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT,  AS  DETERMINED
   26  BY DATA FROM THE TWO MOST RECENT FEDERAL DECENNIAL CENSUS.
   27    (2)  "LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT PARENTS" MEANS PARENTS OR PARENT OF A
   28  MINOR CHILD WHO ATTENDS PUBLIC SCHOOL AND  SUCH  PARENTS  OR  PARENT  IS
   29  UNABLE  TO  COMMUNICATE  EFFECTIVELY IN ENGLISH WITH TEACHERS AND SCHOOL
   30  PERSONNEL AT THE SCHOOL ATTENDED BY HIS OR HER CHILD.
   31    F. NOTHING IN THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL PROHIBIT A SCHOOL  DISTRICT  FROM
   32  ENTERING  INTO  A  COOPERATIVE  AGREEMENT WITH OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO
   33  JOINTLY ESTABLISH SUCH A LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
   34    S 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
   35  it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,  amend-
   36  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
   37  tation  of  this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
   38  completed on or before such effective date.