Section 228.15  Identification of Eligible Students

a)         Each school district shall administer a home language survey with respect to each student entering the district's schools for the first time, for the purpose of identifying students of non-English background.  The survey shall include at least the following questions, and the student shall be identified as having a non-English background if the answer to either question is yes:

1)         Whether a language other than English is spoken in the student's home and, if so, which language; and

2)         Whether the student speaks a language other than English and, if so, which language.

b)         The home language survey shall be administered in English and, if feasible, in the student's home language.

c)         The home language survey form shall provide spaces for the date and the signature of the student's parent or legal guardian.

d)         The completed home language survey form shall be placed into the student's temporary record as defined in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 375 (Student Records).

e)         The district shall, using the prescribed screening instrument, screen the English language proficiency of each student identified through the home language survey as having a non-English background.  This assessment shall take place within 30 days after the student's enrollment in the district, for the purpose of determining the student's eligibility for bilingual education services and, if eligible, the appropriate placement for the student.

1)         A district may rely upon a student's score attained on the prescribed screening instrument or on the assessment instrument prescribed under Section 228.25(c) of this Part, if either is available from another school district or another state, provided that the score was achieved no more than 12 months prior to the district's need to assess the student's proficiency in English for purposes of eligibility and placement.

2)         Each student whose score on the prescribed screening instrument is identified as not "proficient" as defined by the State Superintendent of Education shall be considered to have limited English proficiency and therefore to be eligible for bilingual education services.  However, even if the student scores at the "proficient" level, the school district may consider additional indicators such as the results of criterion-referenced or locally developed tests, teachers' evaluations of performance, samples of a student's work, or information received from family members and school personnel in order to determine whether the student's proficiency in English is limited and the student is eligible for services.

3)         Students who, based on review of assessment scores and other evidence such as that outlined in subsection (e)(2) of this Section, are judged to be of limited English proficiency shall be eligible for, and shall be placed into a program of, bilingual education services.

f)          Each district shall ensure that any accommodations called for in the Individualized Education Programs of students with disabilities are afforded to those students in the administration of the screening instrument discussed in this Section and the language proficiency assessment prescribed under Section 228.25(c) of this Part.

g)         The parent or guardian of any child resident in a school district who has not been identified as having limited English proficiency may request the district to determine whether the child should be considered for placement in a bilingual education program, and the school district shall make that determination upon request, using the process described in this Section.  A determination contested by a parent or legal guardian may be appealed to the regional superintendent of schools for the region in which the district is located, pursuant to the provisions of Section 3-10 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/3-10].

(Source:  Amended at 30 Ill. Reg. 17434, effective October 23, 2006)