Emergent bilingual population surges; district cites staffing, transportation and paperwork challenges
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Summary
Northwest ISD reported a 321% growth in emergent bilingual students over the past decade, about 4,000 current EB students, expanded pre-K intervention, and pressures from budget cuts that have increased caseloads and complicated services.
Northwest ISD staff told trustees on Tuesday that the district27s emergent bilingual (EB) population has grown rapidly and that the district is balancing program expansion with staffing, transportation and compliance demands.
Dr. Espinosa, presenting the district27s EB program report, said the district27s emergent bilingual population had grown 321% over the last decade compared with statewide growth of about 34%. The district27s EB total stood at "a little under 4,000 students" in the slides cited in the transcript. The district offers bilingual programs where a grade-level population of 20 or more emergent bilingual students exists in an elementary grade; current bilingual sites cited were Clara Love, Roanoke and Prairie View.
Program details: Dr. Espinosa said the district runs a one-way dual-language model (Spanish-to-English) and provides transportation for those students. Pre-K early intervention includes 455 students in ESL and 75 in dual language; staff reported a Summer Language Academy for pre-K and kindergarten and a small newcomer program of 25 students. The district reported 80-plus home languages and said new language groupings over recent years have included Telugu, Hindi and Arabic.
Staffing and compliance: The transcript documents the district27s difficulty filling bilingual- and ESL-certified teachers in some cases and noted that state paperwork and compliance obligations (LPAC and other TEA-required processes) increase workload for specialists. The district said it would likely file bilingual exceptions for French, Nepali, Telugu and Arabic (because certification for those languages is not available) and expected to file an ESL waiver for up to nine teachers (four elementary, five secondary) unless some teachers pass certification before the snapshot date.
Family and community services: The district reported adult ESL classes offered twice weekly (Hatfield and Roanoke) with roughly 125 parents enrolled, and said multicultural nights and family resources remain prominent outreach activities.
Outcomes and reclassification: Dr. Espinosa said the district reclassified 453 emergent bilingual students during the year and that TELPAS data show performance and growth used for instructional and reclassification decisions.
Trustee concerns: Trustees asked whether workload pressures from budget cuts might drive staff turnover in EB services. Dr. Espinosa said district leaders worked to avoid putting caseload pressures on classroom teachers and that specialists and central staff were managing compliance and service delivery to reduce teacher burden. The transcript does not include any proposed budget reallocations or new funding sources to address the staffing and transportation needs.
What remains to watch: How the district addresses hiring and certification gaps, the outcome of any filed waivers/exceptions, and whether transportation burdens and caseloads change with further budget adjustments.