MEETING TO DISCUSS ALVARADO’S RESOLUTION ON FAIR TESTING FOR IMMIGRANT STUDENTS
PRESS ADVISORY : May 4, 2007
Contact: Brian Bochow, Legislative Aide
Tel: (914) 995-4456
BrianB@westchesterlegislators.com
| Who: | - | 17th District County Legislator José Alvarado, Majority Whip |
| - | 14th District County Legislator Bernice Spreckman, Chair of Committee on GCED | |
| - | Committee on Generational, Cultural, & Ethnic Diversity (GCED) | |
| - | Dr. Paul Fried – Mamaroneck Union Free Schools (Superintendent) | |
| - | Ms. Gertrude Karabus – Mt. Vernon City Schools (ELA Standards/Admin.) | |
| - | Ms. Ivette Matias – Mt. Vernon City Schools (Foreign Language Admin.) | |
| - | Dr. Richard Organisciak – New Rochelle City Schools (Superintendent) | |
| - | Ms. Estee Lopez – New Rochelle City Schools (ELL Director) | |
| - | Dr. Donald Carlisle – Port Chester Schools (Superintendent) | |
| - | Ms. Jessica O’Donovan – Port Chester Schools (Director ELA Program) | |
| - | Mr. Bernard Pierorazio – Yonkers Public Schools (Superintendent) | |
| - | Ms. Angela Pagano – Yonkers Public Schools (Dir., of Title 1/ESL Services) | |
| What: | Will discuss the drafting and passage of a resolution that would call upon New York State to revise its testing policy toward Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students to reflect the time it takes them to learn the English language. The resolution would also ask New York’s Federal Delegation to propose amendments to No Child Left Behind that would eliminate the mandate for states to administer tests considered unfair to LEP students. | |
| When: | Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at 11:00 AM | |
| Where: | Westchester County Board of Legislators 8th Floor Conference Room |
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| Why: | Despite widespread concern that NCLB standards as applied to non-English speakers are unrealistic, State education departments have had to choose either to comply with federal standards or lose federal funding. Recently, New York State altered its testing policy to meet NCLB standards. The change means that the state’s 60,000 Limited English Proficient (LEP) students must take the Language Arts test after just a year of studying English in school. | |
Those states that choose not to adhere to new testing requirements face a loss in federal funds in the coming year. The U.S. Department of Education has already threatened sanctions on Virginia for refusing to administer tests written in English to children who cannot read, write, or understand the English language.
