Section 228.15  Identification of Eligible Students

a)         Each school district shall administer a home language survey with respect to each student in preschool, kindergarten or any of grades 1 through 12 who is entering the district's schools or any of the district's preschool programs for the first time, for the purpose of identifying students who have a language background other than English.  The survey should be administered as part of the enrollment process or, for preschool programs, by the first day the student commences participation in the program.  The survey shall include at least the following questions, and the student shall be identified as having a language background other than English if the answer to either question is yes:

1)         Whether a language other than English is spoken in the student's home and, if so, which language; and

2)         Whether the student speaks a language other than English and, if so, which language.

b)         The home language survey shall be administered in English and, if feasible, in the student's home language.

c)         The home language survey form shall provide spaces for the date and the signature of the student's parent or legal guardian.

d)         The completed home language survey form shall be placed into the student's temporary record as defined in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 375 (Student Records).

e)         The district shall screen the English language proficiency of each student identified through the home language survey as having a language background other than English by using the prescribed screening instrument applicable to the student's grade level (i.e., kindergarten or any of grades 1 through 12), as set forth in Section 228.10, or the prescribed screening procedures identified by the preschool program.  This screening shall take place within 30 days either after the student's enrollment in the district or, for preschool programs, after the student commences participation in the program, for the purpose of determining the student's eligibility for bilingual education services and, if eligible, the appropriate placement for the student.  For kindergarten, all students identified through the home language survey, including students previously screened when enrolled in preschool, must be screened using the prescribed screening instrument for kindergarten.

1)         The prescribed screening instrument does not need to be administered to a student who, in his or her previous school district:

A)        has been screened and identified as English language proficient as required in this subsection (e); or

B)        has met the State exit requirements as described in Section 228.25(b)(2); or

C)        has met all of the following criteria:

i)          resides in a home where a language other than English is spoken, and

ii)         has not been screened or identified as an English learner, and

iii)        has been enrolled in the general program of instruction in the school he or she has previously attended, and

iv)        has been performing at or above grade level as evidenced by having met or exceeded the Illinois Learning Standards in reading and math on the student's most recent State assessment administered pursuant to Section 2-3.64a-5 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/2-3.64a-5] or its predecessor assessment or, for students for whom State assessment scores are not available, a nationally normed standardized test, provided that either assessment was not administered with accommodations for English learners.  This provision applies only to a student who had been enrolled in any of the grades in which the State assessment is required to be administered in accordance with Section 2-3.64a-5 of the School Code or the grades in which any predecessor assessment was administered.

2)         For purposes of eligibility and placement, a district must rely upon a student's score attained on the English language proficiency assessment prescribed under Section 228.25(b), if available from another school district or another state, provided that the score was achieved no sooner than the school year previous to the student's enrollment in the district.

3)         If results are not available pursuant to subsection (e)(2), then a district must rely upon a student's score on the prescribed screening instrument if available from another school district or another state for the purposes of eligibility and placement for students entering any of grades 1 through 12, if the student's score on the prescribed screening instrument was achieved no more than 12 months prior to the district's need to assess the student's proficiency in English.

4)         Each student whose score on the prescribed screening instrument or procedures, as applicable, is identified as not "proficient" as defined by the State Superintendent of Education shall be considered to be an English learner and therefore to be eligible for, and shall be placed into a program of, bilingual education services.

A)        For preschool programs using a screening procedure other than an established assessment tool where "proficiency" is defined as part of the instrument, "proficiency" is the point at which performance identifies a child as proficient in English, as set forth in the program's proposed screening process.

B)        For any preschool student who scores at the "proficient" level, the school district may consider additional indicators such as teachers' evaluations of performance, samples of a student's work, or information received from family members and school personnel in order to determine whether the student's proficiency in English is limited and the student is eligible for services.

f)         Each district shall ensure that any accommodations called for in the Individualized Education Programs of students with disabilities are afforded to those students in the administration of the screening instrument or procedures, as applicable, discussed in this Section and the English language proficiency assessment prescribed under Section 228.25(b).

g)         The parent or guardian of any child resident in a school district who has not been identified as an English learner may request the district to determine whether the child should be considered for placement in a bilingual education program, and the school district shall make that determination upon request, using the process described in this Section.

(Source:  Amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 11125, effective July 23, 2015)