JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH NEW JERSEY SCHOOL DISTRICT REGARDING EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with a New Jersey school district today to ensure that English Language Learner students are receiving adequate and appropriate language acquisition services as required by the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974.

Most of the English Language Learner students in the Bound Brook school district have a Spanish language background, although the district’s students come from over twenty language backgrounds.

“This comprehensive settlement agreement reflects the Bush Administration’s ongoing efforts to ensure that those with limited English proficiency are able to learn the language and receive a quality education,” said R. Alexander Acosta, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We applaud the school district’s decision to enter into this important agreement and to work diligently toward overcoming the language barriers of its English Language Learner students.”

The settlement agreement requires timely assessment of all students with non-English speaking backgrounds so that no student entitled to language support is overlooked, as well as monitoring of academic progress. The agreement also requires, among other things, that the district provide quality curricula and instruction for English Language Learner students, sufficient library and teacher resources, adequate teacher training, and increased articulation among English as a Second Language, bilingual, and general education teachers. To promote the students’ acquisition of the English language and their integration in the student body, the agreement requires the district to integrate English Language Learner students with others in special classes, including art, music, physical education and recess.

More information about the Educational Opportunities Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division can be found on the Department’s website at <http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/edo/index.html>.

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