DPS receives federal warning

School district failing to adequately instruct non English speaking students, report says

The U.S. Department of Education served notice Thursday that Denver Public Schools is failing more than 13,000 students who speak little or no English.

In a 22-page letter to Superintendent Irv Moskowitz, the department’s Office of Civil Rights said a two-year probe found that the district has discriminated against limited-English and immigrant minority students by not providing them with services they need to get a proper education.

Denver has 10 days to respond or face an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

If the Justice Department reaches the same conclusion, the district could lose federal funding.

”This doesn’t surprise me. I would certainly hope the district will make swift and effective changes to comply with the (complaints),” said Adrienne Benavidez, president of the Latino Education Coalition.

Her group has criticized DPS for shortchanging Hispanic students, who make up half the district’s 66,000 enrollment.

Moskowitz said DPS has worked to remedy the problems.

”We’ve had a comprehensive program for a few years, and we know there are some things we need to do better as that population increases,” he said.

The district is preparing a response that Moskowitz is confident will satisfy the federal government.

In Denver schools, Spanish-speaking students receive bilingual education at all grade levels, with subjects taught in English and Spanish.

Some Hispanic leaders argue that DPS needs to expand bilingual programs to include more Latino culture in the curriculum. Others argue that Spanish speakers should be taught like other immigrants and immersed in the English language with minimal bilingual instruction.

The federal warning is the latest in a longstanding dispute between Denver administrators and Hispanic activists over the best way to teach their children.

In 1994, the Congress of Hispanic Educators cited Denver schools for failing to provide an adequate bilingual education. The group had won a federal lawsuit in 1984 against the district.

Also in 1994, Hispanic students – backed by the Latino Education Association – walked out of class and demanded that the district address the needs of Hispanic students.

Denver Public Schools recently launched a program that calls for many limited-English students to switch to mainstream classrooms within three years.

Administrators say a tighter time limit is necessary to improve achievement among 13,625 non-English proficient students.

Spanish speakers make up 87 percent of the program. More than 40 percent of Hispanic students in Denver schools don’t graduate from high school, and DPS officials say shortening the time spent in bilingual education may help reduce that rate.

Others say as few as half the students can meet the three-year deadline, and they will be worse off without continued bilingual education.

Denver’s new plan calls for parents instead of teachers to help determine whether their child is placed in bilingual education. It would better monitor student and teacher performance and hire more bilingual teachers.

Moskowitz and Denver school board member Rita Montero say the report seems to contradict orders from the federal court.

”I guess the question I’ve had all along is (the U.S. Department of Education) operates under the federal government, and yet the district is under a federal court order,” Montero said.

”They really need to figure out where they’re going.”

Lillian Gutierrez, director of the Denver civil rights office of the Department of Education, said her office is charged with enforcing federal regulations and doesn’t have anything to do with the federal ruling.

This the second time this year Denver Public Schools has clashed with the federal government. The National Science Foundation revoked a federal grant for science education of minority students, saying the district mismanaged the program. Moskowitz later restored the grant after making changes requested by the NSF. INFOBOX THE COMPLAINT AGAINST DPS

The Department of Education said Denver Public Schools fails students who speak little or no English. This is where the district has lagged, the department said in a 22-page letter:

* Denver has failed to provide teachers qualified to teach such students.

* Schools don’t have adequate instructional materials.

* Administrators have classified some non-English speaking students as special education students solely on the basis of their language skills.

* Denver has failed to provide an effective transition from alternative language programs to mainstream classrooms.

* Officials haven’t followed up on students after they are placed in mainstream classrooms to check their progress.

Source: U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights



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