ADMINISTRATIVE LETTER                 18

 

POLICY CODE:  IHBEA

 

TO:                         Superintendents of Schools and Principals of Private Schools

 

FROM:                   J. Duke Albanese, Commissioner

               

DATE:                    October 30, 2002

 

RE:                          Form EF-I 283-Survey of Language Minority Children

 

The Maine Department of Education (MDOE) is conducting its annual survey of language minority children in Maine schools.  The survey achieves the following objectives:

               

1.To comply with state legislation 20-MRSA (§15603, sub-§28-A) that will provide reimbursement to

                  schools that enroll students of limited English proficiency (LEP).  (See Part III of EF-I 283).

              2. To comply with Titles I and III of No Child Left Behind Act

3. To coordinate the data collection efforts at the MDOE in supporting the instructional needs of

    Maine’s diverse student populations.

 

All questions on the survey refer to the current school year beginning September 3, 2002.   Please note that questions 1-4 under Part I must be answered by all school administrative units, even if no language minority youth are enrolled.  All questions under Part II must be completed for school administrative units enrolling one or more limited English proficient (LEP) students.

                               

All questions under Part III must be completed for school administrative units seeking some state reimbursement for their personnel expenditures for instruction to LEP students. The percentage of reimbursement with available funds will be determined based on total eligible costs submitted statewide. The EF-I 283 Excel Spreadsheet for Part III is available at the Department of Education homepage:  www.maine.gov/education/esl/requir.htm or by contacting the English as a second language and bilingual education office at (207) 624-6787.  This spreadsheet is in MS Office 95, Excel version 7.0.  If you are e-mailing the document, please attach the spreadsheet to the e-mail and send to:  Dr. Barney Bérubé, Department of Education, 23 State House Station, Augusta, ME  04333-0023.  E-mail may be sent to  barney.berube@state.me.us. 

 

Perhaps the best person to complete this survey would be an ESL coordinator, ESL teacher or a language assessment committee member in schools where language minority children are enrolled.  Otherwise, the superintendent or private school principal may assign this task as appropriate.  A home language survey and accompanying instructions are enclosed to help each school unit in responding to survey question 1, under Part I. Note that the home language surveys are NOT to be returned to this Department; rather, schools aggregate data from those surveys to answer question 1 under Part I.  Return only the completed EFI-283 form.  Note also that data is cumulative--that is, the data applies to previous home language survey records and new LEP student enrollees. All forms may be duplicated to meet distribution needs.

                               

Please retain in your files a copy of all data used to answer the survey questions.  Assistance with particular questions may be secured by calling 624-6787.  To be eligible for state reimbursement of ESL/BE instruction costs, you must complete and return Form EF-I 283 no later than December 20, 2002 to:  Dr. Barney Bérubé, Maine Department of Education, 23 State House Station, Augusta, ME  04333-0023. * The MDOE will be unable to process Part III of this form for reimbursement if it is received later than 12/20/02. We are asking that this form be completed  by 12/20/02 so that the data can be used to study an improved method of determining LEP student adjustments as a part of the new Essential Programs and Services model for school funding. Your cooperation in completing this important task on time is appreciated.  Thank you.

 

JDA: BB