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Resolution to Assess the Adequacy of Training and Credential Requirements in Each State for Teachers of English Language and Learmers

WHEREAS, 84 years ago, the founders of the League of Latin American Citizens, (LULAC) joined together to establish an organization that would become the largest, oldest and successful Hispanic civil rights and service organization in the United States, and

WHEREAS, IN 1990, The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division, Case No. 90-1913, issued a Consent Decree in LULAC v Florida Board of Education, calling for equal access to all education programs for English Language Learners (ELL), including a mandate for a 300 hour ESOL Endorsment for all teachers of the English language to ELL students, and

WHEREAS, in 2007, 2008 and 2009, legislative efforts to weaken the ESOL training requirements for reading teachers of ELL students failed, but a current administrative move by the Florida Department of Education again threatens to reduce training requirements, and

WHEREAS, Section 1003.56, Florida Statutes, entitled “English language instruction for limited English proficient students”, is designed to develop the stundent’s mastery of the four language skills, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as rapidly as possible, , and

WHEREAS, LULAC Florida wants all children to read English, wants teachers well prepared to teach them to read, and wants monitoring to ensure compliance with the requirements stated in the Consent Decree, reference above, and

WHEREAS, the Position Statement by Sunshine State TESOL opposing proposed pathways to Endorsments in ESOL and Reading that reduce training requirements by 50% has been endorsed by the LULAC Education Commission and other LULAC Florida and International Embassy officials, the Florida Association of Bilingual and ESOL Supervisors (FABES), and the Education Committee of the Florida Conference, NAACP, and

WHEREAS, withdrawal of appropriate training violates the intern of the Consent Decree and fails to provide struggling students the support required for academic success, and

WHEREAS, at a time when we must strive to be as competitive as possible in the quickly changing global economy and are raising the bar for student performance expectations, we cannot afford to lower the bar of expectations and training for our highly qualified teachers of English Language Learners in all options or pathways leading to ESOL and Reading Endorsments.

BE IT RESOLVED, that LULAC Florida urges Governor Scott and the State Board of Education to exert their leadership to insist on compliance with the LULAC consent Decree, and

BE IT RESOLVED that LULAC Florida officers and members are urgend to continue to take action to ensure that civil rights principles are unequivocally upheld in any state Board of Education rule or legislation affecting ELL and other special population of students, and

BE IT RESOLVED, that LULAC National assess the adequacy of credential requirements in each state for teachers of English Language Learners and advocate for improvements as warranted by the results of that study.

Approved this 22nd day of June 2013.

Margaret Moran
LULAC National President