The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced today that Legacy Traditional Schools (LTS), a network of 22 charter schools in Arizona, has entered into a resolution agreement to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The agreement mandates LTS to provide language assistance to national origin minority students and parents with limited English proficiency (LEP) to ensure their meaningful access to the school's programs and activities.
OCR's investigation identified several violations by LTS that the agreement aims to resolve. The findings included LTS's failure to timely identify English learner (EL) students and adequately notify their parents about their EL status and options regarding the English Language Development (ELD) program. Additionally, some EL students were not provided with ELD services due to a shortage of trained and qualified teachers. OCR also noted that LTS administrators lacked training in evaluating teachers who provide ELD services and did not periodically assess or take necessary steps to ensure the effectiveness of the ELD program.
Further, OCR found deficiencies in monitoring the academic progress of current and former EL students, which affected their ability to participate meaningfully in standard instructional programs during and after exiting the EL program. Moreover, some LEP parents were not informed in a language they understand about essential information related to LTS programs and activities.
The review also identified two compliance concerns: first, some LEP parents' decisions to opt their children out of LTS’s EL programs might not have been fully informed due to language barriers; second, EL students might not be receiving equitable instructional space as some were instructed in cafeterias instead of classrooms.
To address these issues, LTS agreed to:
- Timely identify EL students and place them in the ELD program.
- Notify EL students’ parents about their child’s language needs and ELD program options.
- Provide all EL students with daily targeted ELD based on their level of English proficiency.
- Train teachers effectively for both targeted and integrated ELD instruction.
- Ensure appropriate quality instructional materials for EL students comparable to those for non-EL students.
- Monitor academic progress for all current EL students, including those who opted out of services.
- Consistently monitor former EL students' progress using standardized forms.
- Observe ELD classes regularly and adjust promptly when necessary.
- Evaluate each school’s EL program success rates and make modifications if needed.
- Notify employees about interpreter/translation needs for LEP parents and provide free timely services.
- Offer essential information like enrollment forms in both English and Spanish while notifying other parents how they can obtain free translation or interpretation services.
“Through this agreement, Legacy Traditional Schools in Arizona commits to make its education programs equally available to English Learner students and ensure that parents with limited English proficiency can meaningfully participate in their children’s education,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. “OCR looks forward to continuing work with Legacy Traditional Schools to correct practices that had denied students access to education that is their civil right.”
The letter of resolution addressed to Legacy Traditional Schools along with the resolution agreement is available on the OCR website.
