A district that enrolls one or more English learners must implement an educational program that includes at a minimum the following requirements:

(1) identification and reclassification criteria for English learners and program entrance and exit criteria for English learners must be documented by the district, applied uniformly to English learners, and made available to parents and other stakeholders upon request;

(2) a written plan of services that describes programming by English proficiency level made available to parents upon request. The plan must articulate the amount and scope of service offered to English learners through an educational program for English learners;

(3) professional development opportunities for ESL, bilingual education, mainstream, and all staff working with English learners which are: (i) coordinated with the district's professional development activities; (ii) related to the needs of English learners; and (iii) ongoing;

(4) to the extent possible, avoid isolating English learners for a substantial part of the school day; and

(5) in predominantly nonverbal subjects, such as art, music, and physical education, permit English learners to participate fully and on an equal basis with their contemporaries in public school classes provided for these subjects. To the extent possible, the district must assure to pupils enrolled in a program for English learners an equal and meaningful opportunity to participate fully with other pupils in all extracurricular activities.

History: 1980 c 609 art 3 s 18; 1982 c 548 art 3 s 24; 1998 c 397 art 2 s 133,164; 2000 c 254 s 31; 2006 c 263 art 2 s 17; 2012 c 239 art 1 s 33