California is facing a rather large lawsuit as 20,000 students plan to sue the state claiming they didn't get adequate English language instruction, according to a lawsuit filed against the state and education workers on Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
State and federal law require all schools to teach the language to non-English language speakers. However, by California's records, there are nearly 20,000 students that don't have access to English language instruction. The lawsuit is alleging that the lack of language instruction has resulted in students being left back a grade or scoring lower on proficiency exams.
ACLU officials brought the issue to the attention of the state in January through a letter, and officials say that they're working to get compliance across the board.
Wednesday's filings stated that English learners fall behind in school without language instruction, even as the state collects federal funds for the provision of language education, according to the filing by attorney Mark Rosenbaum.
"These kids are not getting the differential learning they're supposed to be getting," Rosenbaum told the Clarion-Ledger.
The state is determined to provide English learners the appropriate instruction and encouraged parents to bring problems to the state's attention, the Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, Richard Zeiger, said in a statement.
"The Department will continue to work with local agencies to ensure compliance with districts' obligations to provide services to English learners," Zeiger said.
He also noted a recent appellate court decision that found the department to be meeting its legal requirements in providing on-site monitoring of English learners.
The lawsuit discusses the struggle of three families with Spanish-speaking children that attend Compton Unified School District and a San Diego 18-year-old in the Grossmont Union High School District, and the additional educational struggle they face.
For each case, the students were identified by the schools as English learners only for them to later be taken out of English language instruction courses, at which point, their grades dropped, the suit alleges.
Parents don't always know their child was removed from English language instruction, according to Rosenbaum.
School officials responded to the January letter by acknowledging the problem, and stating that more than 98 percent of the state's 1.4 million English learners are receiving instructive services.
The lawsuit seeks a court order for schools to provide courses for English learners that require them, as well as the attorney's fees for filing the suit and unspecified further equitable relief the court determines to be appropriate.
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