English as 2nd Language

“A community activist filed a complaint Friday with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, claiming the [Utah] State Office of Education is about to shortchange children learning English as a second language…In his federal complaint, he says the state wants to give kindergarten- through third-grade teachers a shortcut to those credentials by lumping it with a reading endorsement. He fears the state's Reading for English Language Learners plan would lower the quality of education those children receive,” reports the Desert News.

A NASBE task force has been examining the issues of English proficiency and language preservation in public schools. State policy recommendations to address these educational challenges will be unveiled at NASBE’s annual conference in Philadelphia in October.