State board denies U-46's request for bilingual class size waiver

Not buying the argument that costs surpassed funds received for bilingual education programs, the state board of education has denied Elgin Area School District U-46's request for an exemption to state law on class-size caps for students learning English.

"It is determined that granting (the district) the waiver ... is not a sound educational practice and could have a negative impact on a student population that is already struggling and deemed at risk," state Superintendent Christopher Koch noted in his memorandum to the board.

The board voted Jan. 14 in Springfield to deny the request. A letter to U-46 informing them of the decision was mailed out last Friday, state board spokeswoman Mary Fergus said.

The five-year waiver request was approved by the U-46 board in mid-December. Currently, state law caps bilingual classes at 90 percent of a district's average general education student-teacher ratio. If the waiver had been granted, the district would increase bilingual education class sizes to that of the average student-teacher ratio in general education classes.

In its request for an exemption, U-46 claimed the cost of complying with state regulations for bilingual education had annually exceeded the money allocated for the program. Such a request had been virtually unheard of by the state board.

U-46 will spend $30 million this year on bilingual education.

"The further reduction in state funding for bilingual education makes it unduly burdensome to require the district to comply," U-46 attorney Pat Broncato noted in a memo detailing the modifications.

Yet according to the state, U-46 will receive approximately $270,500 more in state and federal bilingual funds in 2010 than it did in 2009. On top of that, Koch noted, in the past seven years U-46 has failed to spend all of its federal funds, carrying some over every year.

According to 2009 state report cards, only 45.9 percent of students learning English met state standards for reading, far below this year's target of 70 percent.

"The district should utilize these unspent funds to improve the education of (bilingual) students. Instead of increasing ... class size, the district could save a considerable amount of money if it chose to utilize the funds it already had at its disposal," the memo noted.

Broncato said U-46 is disappointed in the decision. He pointed out that the district doesn't get the full amount of state money that is budgeted every year and federal money must go to specific purposes. "This federal money is restricted," he said. "We can't just dump it into a general fund."

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund had spoken out against the U-46's waiver request, urging the state board to and "vigorously monitor" the district's bilingual programs.

Staff attorney Alejandro Aixala said Friday that MALDEF was "very pleased" with the decision, and that it "reflected the state values the importance of bilingual programs."