Subpart A: Discrimination Prohibited

1
U.S. Department of EducationOffice for Civil
Rights (OCR)
Title VI, Section 504, Title II Special
Education and Limited English Proficient
Students in Public Schools
2
Key Sources of Federal Law

• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• OCR Policy
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act
  of 1990

3
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

• No person in the United States shall, on the
  ground of race, color, or national origin, be
  excluded from participation in, be denied the
  benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination
  under any program or activity receiving Federal
  financial assistance. (42 U.S.C. Section 2000d)
• The regulation for Title VI is found at 34 C.F.R.
  Part 100.

4
OCR Policy

• OCR policy on LEP students is reflected in the
  following documents
• May 25, 1970 Memorandum
• Policy Regarding the Treatment of National Origin
  Minority Students Who Are Limited English
  Proficient (April 6, 1990, reissuing the December
  3, 1985 Title VI Language Minority Compliance
  Procedures)
• Policy Update on Schools Obligations Toward
  National Origin Minority Students With Limited
  English Proficiency (September 27, 1991)

5
OCR 1970 MEMORANDUM

• Requires school districts to take affirmative
  steps to rectify language deficiencies in order
  to open its instructional program to national
  origin minority group students, where inability
  to speak and understand English excludes the
  students from effective participation in the
  districts educational program.
• Prohibits school districts from assigning ELL
  students to special education classes on criteria
  which essentially measure or evaluate English
  language skills.

6
Exiting ELL Students

• A school district must provide ELL Students
  services until they are proficient in the four
  domains of English to participate meaningfully in
  the regular education program.
• Exit criteria should include objective standards,
  such as standardized test scores.
• Students should continue to receive services
  until they can read, write, speak, and comprehend
  English well enough to participate meaningfully
  in the districts program.
• District may need to remedy academic deficits
  incurred while learning English.

7
SPEDLEP

• Schools may not assign students to special
  education programs on the basis of criteria that
  essentially measure and evaluate English language
  skills.

8
Section 504 and Title II

• Section 504 prohibits discrimination on the basis
  of disability by schools that receive Federal
  financial assistance
• Title II prohibits discrimination against people
  with disabilities by public schools (including
  public vocational schools and public charter
  schools)

9
Section 504 Elementary and Secondary Schools

• Requires a free appropriate public education for
  qualified students with disabilities
• Establishes procedures designed to protect
  against erroneous determinations of disability.
• Instructs that qualified students with a
  disability should be educated with non-disabled
  students to the maximum extent appropriate to the
  needs of the student with a disability

10

• Section 504 establishes evaluation procedures
  that are designed to ensure children are not
• misclassified
• unnecessarily labeled as having a disability
• or incorrectly placed
• based on inappropriate selection, administration,
  or interpretation of evaluation materials.

11
SPEDLEP

• Specific compliance concerns include
• LEP students being inappropriately placed in
  special education programs.
• Special education program provided for LEP
  students not addressing the students English
  language development needs.
• Schools having policies of no double services,
  i.e. refusing to provide both alternative
  language services and special education to
  students who need them.

12
Purpose of an Evaluation for special education
services

• The evaluation is intended to answer two
  questions
• (1) Does the child have a disability under
  Section 504/Title II? If so
• (2) What are the childs individual education
  needs?

13
PLACEMENT
14
Question What are the childs individual
education needs?

• Needs are identified by looking to a variety of
  evaluation sources, including
• aptitude and achievement tests
• teacher recommendations include someone
  knowledgeable about second language acquisition
• physical condition
• social or cultural background including
  language background
• See 34 C.F.R. 104.35 (c)

15
Who Decides?

• The team -- a group that includes persons
  knowledgeable about
• the student
• the meaning of the evaluation data
• the placement options
• for LEP students, person knowledgeable about
  second language acquisition

15
16
Placement Procedures

• The Team carefully considers
• evaluation information from a variety of sources
• all significant factors affecting the students
  ability to receive a FAPE

16
17
Summary

• District ensures that ELL students are not
  inappropriately placed in special education
  services because of their inability to speak and
  understand English.
• Districts should not misidentify ELL students as
  students with disabilities because of their
  inability to speak and understand English.
• District should ensure that evaluations
  accurately reflect a students special education
  needs rather than lack of English language
  skills.
• ELL students with disabilities should receive
  special education or related services in
  accordance with their individual needs.

18
OCR INTERNET RESOURCES

• Home pagewww.ed.gov/ocr/
• ELL Resourceswww.ed.gov/ocr/ellresources.html
• Programs for English Language Learners Resource
  Materials for Planning and Self-Assessments (ELL
  Guide)www.ed.gov/ocr/ell/