Districts must provide written notification to parents of English Learner (EL) students each year that they enroll in a TBE/TPI program in compliance with state and federal regulations. The letters below incorporate Title III and Illinois School Code requirements and are available to all districts. However, a district may also choose to develop their own letter that incorporates all requirements found in Section 14C-4 of the Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/14C-4).
In order to align state statute with federal law, recent updates to the law ensure students remain in EL services until they meet the English proficiency requirement. The Illinois School Code (105 ILSC5/14C-3) has been amended to remove the obligation to get parental permission for students to continue receiving EL services beyond three years. The revised statute now states:
"Every school-age English learner, not enrolled in existing private school systems, shall be enrolled and participate in the Transitional Bilingual Education program established by the school district in which they reside, according to the classification to which they belong. They shall remain in the program until they have developed sufficient English language skills to succeed in classes conducted entirely in English. An annual examination in oral language (listening and speaking), reading, and writing, as prescribed by the State Board, will be administered to all English learners participating in the TBE program. No school district shall transfer an English learner out of the TBE program unless the student has achieved a score on this examination that, in the State Board's determination, reflects a level of English proficiency appropriate to their grade level."
As a result of this legislative update, districts are no longer required to issue separate enrollment letters for students receiving services for one to three years and those continuing beyond three years. This change streamlines the administrative processes for notifying parents of placement/enrollment and reclassification of EL students.
Districts must send notification letters to parents of EL students who participate in language instruction programs no later than 30 days after the beginning of each school year. Districts must notify parents every year in which EL students participate in a language instruction program. When a student is identified as EL after the start of the school year, the districts must send a notification letter to the students’ parents within 14 days of the child being placed in a language instruction program.
