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Parents press ABC Unified to accept private language providers for world‑language credit
Summary
Dozens of parents and students urged the board to drop a geographic restriction that prevents private language schools outside the district from being approved for high‑school world‑language credit; speakers cited insurance costs and urged the board to remove the barrier or waive facility fees.
Dozens of parents and students told the ABC Unified board during public comment they were denied high‑school world‑language elective credit for programs taught by accredited private institutes outside district boundaries. Speakers representing Tamil, Sanskrit and Marathi language programs asked the board to revise or waive a policy that requires a private institute to operate within ABCUSD boundaries before the district grants credit.
Parents and students argued the geographic requirement is a practical barrier for small heritage languages. “Our application got rejected on the grounds that the private school should be in the ABCUSD area,” said parent Narinan Sankar, who asked the board to approve credit for a Tamil program that serves students from ABCUSD. Community speakers described the administrative burden and a reported insurance premium of about $11,000 per year as obstacles for small weekend language schools seeking access to ABC facilities.
Why it matters: The state permits recognition of private providers for high‑school world‑language credit; community members said ABC’s additional local condition effectively denies access to students whose heritage languages are not taught inside district boundaries. Students argued that even a single district student should be allowed to exercise the state option to take a private‑institute course for credit.
Board response and next steps: Trustees acknowledged the comments and asked staff to provide background information in Thursday Notes. Superintendent Dr. Zitlo and staff said they will follow up with additional detail about the policy, insurance implications and possible administrative paths to consider. No policy change was adopted at the meeting.
