District staff review ACCESS testing changes and bilingual supports as Title III funding remains uncertain

At a district board meeting, staff presented a detailed update on ACCESS testing, multilingual learner supports and professional development, and said federal Title III funds for some programs have not yet been confirmed.

The presentation reviewed technical details of the ACCESS English language proficiency assessment used by the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District and how recent scoring changes affect when students are considered to have “exited” English-language support programs. A staff member said, “there are 6 different levels for access scoring within” the test and that “a 4.5 is where they go out.”

The update also addressed who is eligible for services. A board member asked how ineligibility is determined; in response staff clarified that eligibility decisions are not based on the language a student speaks at home. “So that’s nothing to do with what language they come here with…we would never deny somebody a service because there’s a language,” the board member said.

District staff described how multilingual (ML) teachers work with classroom teachers: planning during professional development (PD) time, meeting before school, and co-teaching or modeling strategies in classrooms. A staff member said the union has been “very supportive” and that ML teachers and classroom teachers are “together” to build programs as the district’s multilingual population grows.

Officials said some federal funds are still pending. The presentation noted Title I allocations are in process but that Title II, III and IV funds have not been finalized for the coming year. Staff said they are “optimistic” about receiving some funds but cannot confirm amounts yet and reminded the board that the federal fiscal year and grant calendars operate on an October 1 start date.

Presenters also raised longer-term capacity concerns. One administrator said the district’s multilingual enrollment is growing quickly and recommended deeper planning in the next two to five years to expand supports. Staff described work already under way — teacher cohorts, shared planning time, and cross-school collaboration — and said more detailed student-level reporting is forthcoming when full ACCESS reports are available.

On state-level policy, staff noted that New Jersey frequently joins or initiates litigation around education-policy changes and that state agencies and the attorney general’s office have been active in commenting on federal- and state-level rules. Staff said the state board could release related materials for public comment by the district’s next meeting in August.

Board members asked for additional, school-by-school data and for clarification on which students are scheduled for re-testing. Staff said students who have not yet met the exit criteria are being scheduled for further assessments and that the district will present fuller reports when they are available.

The board did not take formal action on the programs or funding during the meeting; staff indicated they will return with detailed reports and updated budget/funding information once federal allocations are confirmed.