U-46, other districts struggle to serve changing population

Federal Judge Robert W. Gettleman's decision last week to grant class-action status to the Elgin Area School District U-46 racial bias lawsuit indicates that a new language is being spoken in civil rights cases.

Along with claims of overcrowding and busing minority students, the lawsuit accuses the state's second largest school district of failing to provide adequate services for English language learners.

If the allegations are proven, all current Hispanic U-46 students receiving bilingual services, those who have received services in the past four years, or those who should have but did not receive bilingual services would all receive remedies, which could include monetary damages.

In U-46, a court decision could directly affect more than 27,000 current and former students.

Experts say that may be only the beginning.

With more and more Hispanics flooding into the Chicago suburbs each year, school districts' populations are rapidly changing. They must find a way to adapt, to not only fund but execute well programs that help newcomers.

If not, they risk landing in legal hot water.

"This U-46 case has the potential to influence school districts, and rightly so," said Ricardo Mezas, regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

"Just because you have a bilingual program doesn't mean you're off the hook. That program still has to provide equal educational opportunities and remove impediments to language barriers," he said. "It's not just enough to throw money at it and say, OK, we've done our part."

A changing climate

According to the Pew Center for Research, 44.2 million Hispanics were living in the U.S. in 2006, an increase of 9 million from 2000.

Mexican immigration has fueled growth in the Northwest suburbs, causing the highest percentage growth of Hispanic students in schools in Bensenville, Elgin, West Chicago and Streamwood.

Schools, by federal law, cannot check for proof of legal residency. They must simply accept those who show up on their doorstep - here legally or not - with open arms, and promise a quality education.

Between 2002 and 2007, U-46, which serves 11 communities, saw its percentage of Latino students grow from to 41 percent from 32.7 percent.

Of the 92 school districts in the Daily Herald's readership area, 87 reported such a significant increase in Latino students over the five-year period.

Educating bilingual students isn't cheap: This year, U-46 expects at least $3.5 million in state and federal aid. And it isn't easy, either.

In 1974, Congress enacted the Equal Education Opportunity Act, which mandates school districts take action to overcome students' language barriers that impede equal participation in educational programs. In 1981, the Fifth Court of Appeals went one step further in Castaneda v. Pickard, establishing a three-part assessment for determining how bilingual education programs would be held responsible for meeting the requirements of that act.

Programs must not only be based on sound educational theory, but be effectively implemented and successful. The last of the three parts is determined by how students perform on annual achievement tests - one of the pillars of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

"You have a lot of educators these days under a lot of stress," said Melissa Wolf, a director of Illinois Association for Multilingual Multicultural Education. "With a more punitive approach to punishing failing schools, there's a lot a lot more animosity among the community."

U-46

In April 2006 the Daily Herald reported that in the span of a decade, three reports from outside sources identified the same recurring problems in U-46's bilingual education programs. Data on U-46's bilingual students was lacking, assessment of students was intermittent, and criteria for entering and exiting the program was inconsistent, all three reports found.

Another report, issued in March 2006 by nationally recognized bilingual education expert Beatriz Arias, claimed the district's program had cleaned up its act. A state report, issued that same month, told a much different story, citing multiple violations of Illinois and federal law in U-46's bilingual programs.

The state report found some students in the program were not assessed annually and others eligible for bilingual services hadn't received them. It also found that 20 percent of the district's bilingual teachers were not properly certified to teach their classes.

Futterman Howard, the law firm representing the families suing U-46, factored the state's findings into their second motion to make the suit a class action in May 2006, as further proof that U-46 had not adequately revamped programs for bilingual students.

"Every district has some leeway as to how they implement their (bilingual) programs," said Alonzo Rivas, a lawyer with Futterman Howard who for years worked as counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. "What the law requires - you are supposed to have a research-based curriculum and plan to address your needs. You are supposed to have entrance and exit criteria - you're supposed to monitor those. You're supposed to have that skeleton."

All too often, the only watchdog is the state.

'Waning' help

In 2000, the state board of education boasted 800 employees. After cutbacks, that number is at just 475 today, spokesman Matt Vanover said.

While the board must audit each district's bilingual program every three years, its role as a source of help is waning, said Wolf, from the Illinois Association for Multilingual Multicultural Education.

"There are very few people around to even talk to at ISBE," she said. "They have had all these cuts. They are so understaffed that if they were to do anything, it's only spot checks, and only minimal things they're able to do. Instead of an agency which can provide assistance and positive support, they become reduced to this watchdog group."

With Illinois schools governed by local control, Vanover stressed that much responsibility lies in the hands of each district.

"Bilingual and ELL (English language learners) programs are locally implemented," he said. "We do go and follow up to make sure each district is in compliance, but the actual implementation is a local issue."

The composition of school boards, which often don't reflect their districts' increasingly diverse populations, put these programs at a disadvantage, said Mezas, of the Legal Defense and Education Fund. "The fact that there are no Latino board members on U-46 indicates that the issues Latino children and their parents are facing may not have a voice."

Mezas said his organization is hopeful that Superintendent Jose Torres can "present to the school board the perspective of English language learners, of limited-English students, with problems in regards to services."

Other districts

If other heavily Hispanic school districts are concerned about a lawsuit knocking on their door, they're not showing it.

Wheeling Township Elementary District 21, where 2,435 of its 6,582 students are identified as "limited English proficient," is in the process of restructuring its bilingual program, Mark Twain Elementary ELL teacher Jennifer Bercovitz said. Four of the district's 13 schools operate under a new system where students learn English from ELL teachers and a subject's concepts from bilingual staff members.

Each year, the district reassesses if the program is meeting the needs of its students. It plans to phase in instruction at the other schools over time.

"It's good," she said of the program. "We're really looking at how it's working, comparing ourselves with other districts, seeing if students are successfully transitioning into English classes."

Cynthia Latimer, Aurora District 129's assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, said that after recently completing an internal audit of the district's bilingual program, she's "confident we're following the state rules and regulations."

Janice Fick, assistant superintendent of special services for Glendale Heights-based Queen Bee Elementary District 16, which is 48 percent Hispanic, said, "I wouldn't say I'm nervous."

Still, she admitted, the district struggles with finding "adequate teachers" who are certified to teach bilingual classes - one of the charges of neglect in the U-46 case.

Only time will tell what backlash follows the U-46 suit.

"We'll certainly be interested in seeing what the (U-46 lawsuit's) outcome is," Bensenville Elementary District 2 Superintendent Bill Jordan said.

Growing suburban Latino population

The percentage of Latino students rose in 87 of the 92 districts covered by the Daily Herald in the past 5 years. Here, we compare enrollment figures, percentage of Limited English Proficient students (LEP) and percentage of Latino students (Lat) between 2002 and 2007.

DuPage

Year Enroll. LEP Lat

Bensenville Elem. Dist. 2

'02 2,300 24 54

'07 2,270 33 64

Addison Elem. Dist. 4

'02 3,812 17 45

'07 4,087 20.6 58

Wood Dale Elem. Dist. 7

'02 1,144 13 27

'07 1,156 8 33

Itasca Elem. Dist. 10

'02 836 6 8

'07 881 5 11

Medinah Elem. Dist. 11

'02 752 12 11

'07 744 14 13

Roselle Elem. Dist. 12

'02 719 5 5

'07 706 9 7

Bloomingdale Elem. Dist. 13

'02 1,473 2 4

'07 1,134 1 6

Marquardt Elem. Dist. 15

'02 2,647 18 28

'07 2,611 16 40

Queen Been Elem. Dist. 16

'02 2,229 11 28

'07 2,142 13 43

Keeneyville Elem. Dist. 20

'02 1,616 13 17

'07 1,699 15 27

West Chicago Elem. Dist. 33

'02 3,799 37 57

'07 38,00 43 66

Winfield Elem. Dist. 34

'02 423 2 6

'07 379 7 8

Glen Ellyn Elem. Dist. 41

'02 3,382 2 5

'07 3,588 7 8

Lombard Elem. Dist. 44

'02 3,265 7 8

'07 3,096 6 11

Villa Park Elem. Dist. 45

'02 3,815 13 21

'07 3,545 20 27

Salt Creek Elem. Dist. 48

'02 650 6 6

'07 544 5 3

Oak Brook Elem. Dist. 53

'02 1,537 0 2

'07 487 1 3

Glen Ellyn Elem. Dist. 89

'02 2,426 4 4

'07 2,209 4 7

Carol Stream Elem. Dist. 93

'02 5,107 5 10

'07 4,303 8 15

Glenbard Twp. HS Dist. 87

'02 8,707 3 9

'07 8,977 3 12

DuPage HS Dist. 88

'02 3,922 7 19

'07 4,082 6 26

West Chicago HS Dist. 94

'02 2,049 12 33

'07 2,161 11 40

Fenton HS Dist. 100

'02 1,536 5 34

'07 1,540 6 41

Lake Park HS Dist. 108

'02 2,789 1 7

'07 3,067 1 11

Wheaton Unit Dist. 200

'02 14,301 2 7

'07 13,597 6 10

Lisle Unit Dist. 202

'02 1,837 4 5

'07 1,646 2 6

Naperville Unit Dist. 203

'02 18,961 2 3

'07 18,449 3 4

Indian Prairie Unit Dist. 204

'02 23,786 4 5

'07 28,087 3 7

Elmhurst Unit Dist. 205

'02 7,068 1 6

'07 7,621 3 7

KANE

Year Enroll. LEP Lat

Elgin Area Unit Dist. U-46

'02 34,983 20 29

'07 39,794 20 41

Batavia Unit Dist. 101

'02 5,777 2 6

'07 6,262 2 7

Aurora West Unit Dist. 129

'02 10,941 7 33

'07 12,307 8 43

Community Unit Dist. 300

'02 16,555 14 21

'07 18,617 12 26

Central Unit Dist. 301

'02 2,306 0 3

'07 2,941 3 8

Kaneland Unit Dist. 302

'02 2,862 1 3

'07 4,146 1 9

St. Charles Unit Dist. 303

'02 11,660 1 5

'07 13,694 2 6

Geneva Unit Dist. 304

'02 5,037 0 2

'07 5,900 1 4

LAKE

Year Enroll. LEP Lat

McHenry Elem. Dist. 15

'02 4,614 2 7

'07 4,851 6 13

Millburn Elem. Dist. 24

'02 1,311 0 5

'07 1,624 1 4

Emmons Elem. Dist. 33

'02 376 0 2

'07 413 0 3

Antioch Elem. Dist. 34

'02 2,274 1 4

'07 3,018 2 7

Grass Lake Elem. Dist. 36

'02 269 0 2

'07 226 0 4

Gavin Elem. Dist. 37

'02 1,062 2 8

'07 980 6 17

Big Hollow Elem. Dist. 38

'02 744 0 6

'07 1,378 6 13

Lake Villa Elem. Dist. 41

'02 3,009 3 9

'07 3,353 6 13

Grayslake Elem. Dist. 46

'02 3,528 4 10

'07 4,177 11 12

Woodland Elem. Dist. 50

'02 6,810 5 12

'07 7,001 8 17

Gurnee Elem. Dist. 56

'02 2,026 7 14

'07 2,173 11 25

Oak Grove Elem. Dist. 68

'02 1,044 0 2

'07 1.064 0 2

Libertyville Elem. Dist. 70

'02 2,594 1 3

'07 2,652 2 3

Rondout Elem. Dist. 72

'02 130 5 5

'07 140 6 7

Hawthorn Elem. Dist. 73

'02 3,582 7 18

'07 3,763 10 21

Mundelein Elem. Dist. 75

'02 2,380 10 24

'07 2,050 17 38

Diamond Lake Elem. Dist 76

'02 1,276 16 42

'07 1,260 20 53

Fremont Elem. Dist. 79

'02 1,510 3 6

'07 2,046 7 7

Lake Zurich Unit Dist. 95

'02 6,357 1 4

'07 6,445 2 6

Buffalo Grove-Long Grove 96

'02 3,578 4 3

'07 3,359 4 3

Aptakisic-Tripp Elem. Dist 102

'02 2,530 4 3

'07 2,140 5 4

Lincolnshire-Prairie View 103

'02 1,741 3 2

'07 1,653 3 2

Fox Lake Elem. Dist. 114

'02 817 3 12

'07 892 7 12

Round Lake Area Unit Dist. 116

'02 6,086 19 51

'07 6,844 20 63

Antioch-Lake Villa HS Dist. 117

'02 2,008 0 3

'07 2,627 0 6

Wauconda Unit Dist. 118

'02 3,863 6 12

'07 4,194 8 18

Mundelein HS Dist. 120

'02 1,962 5 25

'07 2,286 3 29

Warren Twp. HS Dist. 121

'02 3,164 1 12

'07 3,919 3 15

Grant HS Dist. 124

'02 1,261 1 7

'07 1,696 1 12

Stevenson HS Dist. 125

'02 4,137 4 3

'07 4,461 3 3

Grayslake HS Dist. 127

'02 1,783 1 7

'07 2,603 0 14

Libertyville-Vernon Hills 128

'02 2,864 2 5

'07 3,288 1 6

MCHENRY

Year Enroll. LEP Lat

Fox River Grove Elem. Dist. 3

'02 657 0 2

'07 561 0 4

Johnsburg Unit Dist. 12

'02 2,492 0 3

'07 2,645 0 0

McHenry Elem. Dist. 15

'02 4,614 2 7

'07 4,851 6 13

Cary Elem. Dist. 26

'02 3,568 3 6

'07 3,546 4 9

Crystal Lake Elem. Dist. 47

'02 8,676 3 6

'07 9.097 3 9

Crystal Lake HS Dist. 155

'02 5,772 1 4

'07 7,011 1 7

Huntley Unit Dist. 158

'02 3,971 3 9

'07 7,630 4 10

COOK

Year Enroll. LEP Lat

Palatine Twp. Elem. Dist. 15

'02 12,794 17 19

'07 12,388 17 24

Wheeling Twp. Elem. Dist. 21

'02 7,393 25 32

'07 6,852 37 43

Prospect Hts. Elem. Dist. 23

'02 1,612 9 5

'07 1,463 8 10

Arlington Hts. Elem. Dist. 25

'02 4,877 4 4

'07 5,077 5 5

River Trails Elem. Dist. 26

'02 1,721 13 21

'07 1,563 19 25

Schaumburg Twp. Dist. 54

'02 15,354 7 11

'07 14,343 13 17

Mount Prospect Elem. Dist. 57

'02 1,966 3 5

'07 2,086 3 5

Elk Grove Twp. Elem. Dist. 59

'02 6,474 23 24

'07 6,120 27 31

Des Plaines Dist. 62

'02 5,099 14 28

'07 4,707 32 32

East Maine Dist. 63

'02 3,700 17 15

'07 3,493 15 20

Rosemont Dist. 78

'02 288 5 17

'07 252 4 18

Maine Twp. H.S. Dist. 207

'02 6,617 5.5 12

'07 4,707 4.6 16

Palatine-Schaumburg HS 211

'02 12,705 3 10

'07 12,753 4 13

Leyden Dist. 212

'02 3,381 13 37

'07 3,501 7 46

Northwest Suburban HS 214

'02 11,455 7 13

'07 12,073 7 17

Barrington Unit Dist. 220

'02 8,382 4 9

'07 8,955 6 11

Source: '02 and '07 state report cards