HLS 16RS-4465 ORIGINAL
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 136
BY REPRESENTATIVE MORENO
EDUCATION: Requests the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to study
establishing two-way dual language programs in public schools
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to study the
3 feasibility of establishing two-way dual language programs in public schools and to
4 submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the House Committee
5 on Education and the Senate Committee on Education not later than sixty days prior
6 to the 2017 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.
7 WHEREAS, the Constitution of Louisiana provides that it is the goal of the public
8educational system "to provide learning environments and experiences, at all stages of
9human development, that are humane, just, and designed to promote excellence in order that
10every individual may be afforded an equal opportunity to develop to his full potential"; and
11 WHEREAS, the state constitution requires the legislature to provide for the education
12of the people of the state and to establish and maintain a public educational system; and
13 WHEREAS, in fulfilling this constitutional responsibility, it is important that more
14instructional programs are provided for students from diverse cultural and educational
15backgrounds with limited English proficiency; and
16 WHEREAS, although the state's total population of students with limited English
17proficiency is still below five percent, in the last three years some schools have seen
18dramatic increases in the number of such students they have served; and
19 WHEREAS, as of October 2015, five public school districts reported total limited
20English proficient student populations above five percent including Jefferson (13%), Union
21and St. Mary (6.5%), East Baton Rouge (5.9%), and Orleans (5.6%); and
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HCR NO. 136
1 WHEREAS, Louisiana's English language learners receive support through a variety
2of instructional models including:
3 (1) Structured English immersion programs that teach the students in English at the
4level they can comprehend and that focus on grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure, and
5pronunciation skills.
6 (2) Transitional bilingual education programs that provide students with instruction
7in their native languages from bilingual teachers who gradually transition to English.
8 (3) Push-in and pull-out programs that provide support for students through tutors
9or teachers who assist the students in their regular classrooms and provide more targeted
10support outside of the classroom; and
11 WHEREAS, Louisiana currently offers one-way dual language programs in various
12parishes in which the majority or all of the students in the class are native English speakers
13who receive instruction in English and another language including the following:
14 (1) Spanish immersion settings in fourteen schools in Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge,
15Jefferson, and Lafayette for students in prekindergarten through grade eight.
16 (2) French immersion settings in twenty-seven schools in Assumption, Calcasieu,
17East Baton Rouge, Iberia, Jefferson, Lafayette, Orleans, St. Landry, and St. Martin parishes
18and the International School of Louisiana, L'Ecole Bilingue, and Lycee Francais de la
19Nouvelle Orleans, serving over four thousand students in prekindergarten through grade
20twelve.
21 (3) Mandarin immersion programs in East Baton Rouge and Lafayette, serving
22approximately sixty students; and
23 WHEREAS, Louisiana does not currently have any two-way dual language programs
24that provide all content instruction to English language learners and native English speakers
25in two languages; and
26 WHEREAS, researchers Wayne Thomas and Virginia Collier's eighteen-year
27longitudinal comparison study of English only, transitional bilingual, and dual language
28classes in twenty-three districts across fifteen states found that two-way dual language
29models maximize benefits for English learners and English proficient students alike
30including:
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HCR NO. 136
1 (1) Eliminating the achievement gap between English language learners and native
2English speakers.
3 (2) Developing school cultures that are more inclusive of cultural differences.
4 (3) Increasing parent involvement; and
5 WHEREAS, a more recent study of the impact of two-way dual language programs
6in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district from 2007-2010 found that students in two-way
7dual language programs consistently outperformed non dual language programs and that the
8two groups of students who benefit most from dual language instruction are English
9language learners and African American students with both groups testing higher in reading
10and math than their non dual language peers; and
11 WHEREAS, these studies identified that success across dual language programs
12varied depending on the extent to which programs implemented specific practices and
13recommended that all dual language programs include the following:
14 (1) A minimum of six years of bilingual instruction with English learners not
15segregated.
16 (2) A focus on core academic curriculum and not remedial skills.
17 (3) A high quality language arts curriculum for both languages.
18 (4) A separation of the instruction of each language such as avoiding translation or
19repeating the same instruction in both languages.
20 (5) Use of non-English language at least fifty percent of the instructional time and
21as much as ninety percent in early grades; and
22 WHEREAS, districts and schools planning to implement two-way dual language
23programs must consider increased initial start-up costs, teacher training and recruitment,
24community demand, student demographics, and evaluation methods among other factors;
25and
26 WHEREAS, the recently reauthorized federal Every Student Succeeds Act increases
27the number of years before English language learners are required to take assessments in
28English thereby providing the state and districts with the flexibility to foster both native
29language and English language instruction; and
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HCR NO. 136
1 WHEREAS, in order that every student may be afforded an equal opportunity to
2develop to his full potential as provided in the state constitution, including students from
3diverse cultural and educational backgrounds with limited English proficiency, it is
4imperative that proven methods such as two-way dual language programs are implemented
5in public schools.
6 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
7urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to study the
8feasibility of establishing two-way dual language programs – also referred to as dual
9language, two-way immersion, or dual immersion programs -- in public schools and to
10submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the House Committee on
11Education and the Senate Committee on Education not later than sixty days prior to the 2017
12Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
14president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 136 Original 2016 Regular Session Moreno
Requests the State Bd. of Elementary and Secondary Education to study the feasibility of
establishing two-way dual language programs in public schools and to submit a written
report of findings and recommendations to the House and Senate education committees not
later than 60 days prior to the 2017 R.S.
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