Washington, DC (March 21, 2007) – During a hearing today on the impact of No Child Left Behind on English language learners, Congressman Ruben Hinojosa voiced his concern that many states still are not administering valid and reliable reading, math, and science assessments to students of limited English proficiency (LEP). Moreover, states still have not developed assessments to measure students’ progress towards achieving English language proficiency, which is required by No Child Left behind.
Below is Congressman Hinojosa’ remarks in response to today’s hearing:
“If we do not get the No Child Left Behind Act right for Limited English Proficient students, the law will once again fail hundreds of thousands of students. More than 5 million children, speaking roughly 400 different languages, are currently enrolled in our public schools. We can no longer sit idly by and just assume that they’re doing well in school—because quite simply, they are not.
“LEP students enter our schools in every grade from pre-school to high school. Some arrive with strong educational backgrounds in their native language. Often these students find themselves placed in lower-level content courses or in a class they have already taken in their native country because being a LEP student is the only consideration a school takes into account. Others have little education background and need extra time to master math, science, and language content. We must take all these variables in account for reform to be meaningful.
“It is imperative that we ensure that No Child Left Behind is on the right course for LEP children before we begin the reauthorization process this session. LEP students need to be included in our accountability systems in a valid and reliable way and the Department of Education needs to provide the guidance, technical assistance, or enforcement necessary to ensure that states are meeting the law’s requirements.
“Today’s hearing was an important first step towards meeting this goal. If No Child Left Behind does not work for English language learners, the law will be a failure for most of the schools in my congressional district and for many across the nation. I look forward to working with my colleagues to make sure that we finally make sure that English Language learners are not systematically left behind.”
