Education of Limited English Proficient and Recent Immigrant Students: Provisions in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

Publication Date: June 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Education

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Abstract:

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA, P.L. 107-110) represents a major overhaul of federal programs for the education of limited English proficient and recent immigrant students. Programs for bilingual and immigrant education under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) were consolidated and underwent several important changes with regard to the funding mechanism, method of instructional delivery, and focus on educational outcomes and accountability.

The NCLBA consolidated several competitively awarded grants in the Bilingual Education Act and a formula grant in the Emergency Immigrant Education Act (ESEA, Title VII, Parts A and C) into a single population-based formula grant. The new Language Acquisition State Formula Grant Program (ESEA, Title III) allocates 80% of funding according to the population of limited English proficient (LEP) students and 20% according to the population of recently arriving immigrants.

The law gives state and local educational agencies greater flexibility in the design and administration of language instructional programs and removes language in Title VII that encouraged bilingual instruction methods (i.e., curricula that develop proficiency in more than one language). At the same time, the law develops and focuses greater attention to the achievement of English proficiency.

Among many amendments to pupil assessment, the NCLBA builds upon language in the 1994 ESEA amendments. The law increases the reporting requirements for language and academic assessments as well as the accommodations under which those assessments are given to LEP pupils. Recipients of Title III money are also subjected to greater accountability standards tied to Title I adequate yearly progress (AYP) provisions.

In the first year of its existence, funding for Title III was dramatically increased over the previous year's Title VII appropriation -- from $460 million in FY2001 to $665 million in FY2002. Since that time, the appropriations for the program have remained stable -- $684 million in FY2003 and $681 in FY2004. The President's request for FY2005 (as published in the Budget of February 2, 2004) would again level-fund Title III at $681 million.

As with many other provisions in the NCLBA, the implementation of Title III has been met with vocal opposition. The Department of Education (ED) released non-regulatory guidance in the spring of 2003 that described how state educational agencies should apply for and allocate grants as well as the responsibilities of local educational agencies. In February 2004, the Secretary issued two policy statements that further clarify how he intends to implement the assessment and accountability provisions in the law.