Whenever used in sections 10-17 and 10-17d to 10-17g, inclusive:

(1) “Eligible students” means students enrolled in public schools in grades kindergarten to twelve, inclusive, whose dominant language is other than English and whose proficiency in English is not sufficient to assure equal educational opportunity in the regular school program;

(2) “Program of bilingual education” means a program that: (A) Makes instructional use of both English and an eligible student's native language; (B) enables eligible students to achieve English proficiency and academic mastery of subject matter content and higher order skills, including critical thinking, so as to meet appropriate grade promotion and graduation requirements; (C) provides for the continuous increase in the use of English and corresponding decrease in the use of the native language for the purpose of instruction within each year and from year to year and provides for the use of English for more than half of the instructional time by the end of the first year; (D) may develop the native language skills of eligible students; and (E) may include the participation of English-proficient students if the program is designed to enable all enrolled students to become more proficient in English and a second language.

(3) “English as a second language program” means a program that uses only English as the instructional language for eligible students and enables such students to achieve English proficiency and academic mastery of subject matter content and higher order skills, including critical thinking, so as to meet appropriate grade promotion and graduation requirements.

(P.A. 77-588, S. 1, 7; P.A. 85-613, S. 91, 154; P.A. 99-211, S. 1, 10.)

History: P.A. 85-613 made technical change, substituting reference to Sec. 10-17g for reference to Sec. 10-17h; P.A. 99-211 deleted the existing definition of program of bilingual education and substituted a new definition and added the definition of English as a second language program, effective July 1, 1999.

Cited. 226 C. 704.