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Board approves bilingual certification exception; district reports progress and gaps for emerging bilingual students
Summary
Trustees approved a single bilingual certification exception for 2025–26 while Dr. Smart reported the district serves roughly 877 emerging bilingual students and highlighted reclassification and growth trends across grades.
Dr. Smart asked the board to approve one bilingual certification exception for the 2025–26 school year to address a bilingual teacher shortage at Kissam Intermediate (science and social studies long-term substitute). She said approving the exception keeps the district in compliance with state requirements and allows instruction to continue uninterrupted while the district recruits a certified bilingual teacher. The board moved, seconded and carried the motion to approve the exception.
In an information presentation on the district’s required bilingual/ESL annual evaluation under Chapter 89 of the Texas Education Agency, Dr. Smart reported Chapel Hill ISD serves about 877 emerging bilingual students across campuses and described program models (one-way dual language pre-K–6 and ESL pullout at secondary). She highlighted historical reclassification numbers—10 students in 2023, 87 in 2024 and 80 in 2025—and said the district will focus on accelerating growth and narrowing achievement gaps at the secondary level.
“Moving forward, our focus will be to build greater consistency at the secondary level so that students can reach advanced high proficiency level in English,” Dr. Smart said.
