Bilingual Students Are Being Denied Their Civil Rights
By Sylvia Puente and Karen Garibay-Mulattieri
It is clear that Illinois is not meeting its obligations and denying foreign language students in Illinois, who are here trying to learn English, their civil rights to an adequate education that ensures their success. The recent investigative report, published by the Chicago Reporter, urges our governmental officials to take action and do right by our children.
Inadequate funding, teacher workforce shortages and lack of oversight have created a crisis point just as Illinois prepares to launch a system that replaced No Child Left Behind and puts more pressure on schools to meet these students’ needs.
The current state of affairs lacks justice for the students and families and overburdens local schools to manage the situation. The solution to this untenable situation will require bold action on the part of the Governor, the Mayor of Chicago, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the leadership at Chicago Public Schools (CPS). How long must children in Illinois wait for access to a quality education?
The number of English learners is large and Illinois can’t afford for them to fail. ELs have grown by over 80 percent in the past 15 years, with students enrolled in 85 out of 102 counties. Yet the state funding for Bilingual Education has remained static with districts receiving as little as 60 cents per dollar spent. According to the Chicago Reporter, Illinois’ fiscal crisis has caused “severe and protracted resource and staffing challenges” for public schools statewide, but “the pain is particularly acute for bilingual programs,” claimed State Board of Education spokesperson Jackie Matthews.
It is time for Governor Rauner to sign Senate Bill 1 and the appropriations legislation that funds our schools and the related programs needed by English Learners.
The situation within CPS is especially illuminated in this article. The district enrolls nearly a third of the state’s English Learners and instructional support is lacking in many schools across the system. The CPS Latino Advisory Council recently resigned their positions due to a lack of responsiveness from the Mayor and CPS board leadership regarding their recommendations for building the pipeline of bilingual teachers and leaders. Does the education of English learners matter? What about the lack of services in charter schools authorized by CPS? It is imperative that the administration of CPS and the Mayor’s Office develop and implement a plan to ensure that the implementation of bilingual and ESL programs is prioritized.
ISBE also has a role to play in supporting English Learners. Staff in the Division of English language Learning is at an all-time low. The ability of the agency to provide technical assistance and to answer questions regarding English Learners has been greatly diminished due to downsizing, cuts, and budgetary challenges.
The City of Chicago and the Illinois State Board of Education must answer to the families of over 200,000 students on how their civil rights will be guaranteed across Illinois.