BISD outlines emergent bilingual services, requests bilingual teacher exceptions
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Summary
District language acquisition staff reported on emergent bilingual enrollment and reclassification criteria, described challenges with the reading component of exit assessments, and said the district will request bilingual exceptions for five teacher positions to support instruction.
District language acquisition staff presented an informational report on services for emergent bilingual students and compliance with state rules (Texas Administrative Code, including TAC 89.1265). Presenters said the district supports roughly 1,400+ emergent bilingual students speaking about 20 languages, with Spanish and Vietnamese the two most common languages. Staff described reclassification and ELPAC-based exit criteria, identified that the reading component has limited some students' exits, and said the district will again request TEA approval of a bilingual exception for five bilingual teacher positions at specified campuses.
The presentation outlined recruitment and certification supports the district offers for bilingual/ESL teachers, including study sessions, materials, reimbursement and collaboration with HR to grow bilingual staffing. Staff noted professional development plans and state-required trainings for language proficiency assessment committees; no board action was required since this was an informational report.
Trustees asked clarifying questions about year-to-year counts and exit trends; staff replied that enrollment dynamics (including new enrollees, graduations and some homeschooling moves) affect totals, and that the district had small net increases in some schools due to grade reconfigurations.