This policy requires that students with limited proficiency in the English language should be given the opportunity to participate in a bilingual or ESL education program, run by a certified teacher, and their progress will be assessed. This policy went into effect September 1, 1996.
If 20 or more of the LEP students enrolled in a school district fit the same language classification -- meaning, they speak the same non-English language -- and are in the same grade level, then the school district is required to offer those students bilingual education. This applies only to students in pre-kindergarten or the elementary grades. The elementary grades always include children up through the fifth grade, and also include sixth-graders if the sixth-graders are being taught in an elementary (as opposed to a middle school). Bilingual education means that the students will be taught in a dual-language program, so they are taught in their non-English language as well as being taught ESL coursework. This policy is found in section 89.1205 of the TAC.
Each district must maintain a language proficiency assessment committee, made up of people who are participants in the school district in accordance with particular classifications (as outlined in the Texas Education Code 29.063). The committee should be large enough that they can assess any LEP student enrolling into the school system within four weeks of his enrollment. The assessment will enable the committee member to determine the level of English proficiency the student has, what grade level would be appropriate for him, what state or federal funds the student is eligible to receive and, once the student has sufficiently mastered English, to recommend when he should leave the ESL or bilingual program. This policy is found in section 89.1220 of the TAC.
Texas policy allows a student to be issued an exemption from the annual TAAS (Texas Assessment of Academic Skills) test because he hasn't yet sufficiently mastered the English language. However, an LEP student may be exempt for only three years or fewer. Some have expressed concern that the LEP students should be given a longer period of exemption, or that other modifications (such as in how the test is administered) are necessary for the TAAS to be a fair assessment of their learning over the course of the school year, and that they aren't unfairly penalized for their relative lack of familiarity with the English language. Though modifications to the policy regarding LEP students taking the TAAS have been presented to the State Department of Education, whether or not more exceptions and modifications are needed is an ongoing concern.