Fresno schools did not discriminate against English-learning families, California says
Fresno Unified did not discriminate against the parents of English-language learning students last year during school-planning meetings, the California Department Education has ruled.
The investigation released its findings last month in response to a complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the Fresno-area parents group Familias Empoderadas in August last year.
In addition to the racial discrimination allegations, the formal complaint also accused the district of violating the Brown Act and the California Education Code, saying the district “failed” to communicate properly with non-English speaking families about participation in the Local Control and Accountability Plan and other district programming.
Familias Empoderadas say they have been asking for more tutoring and other learning options to help English Learning students reclassify as “proficient” English-language speakers.
FUSD spokesperson Amy Idsvoog said the district was pleased but not surprised by the ruling from the California Department of Education.
“Fresno Unified was confident we had done everything possible to communicate and connect with all our district families in their home language. We’re pleased to see that the California Department of Education agrees. As CDE noted, Fresno Unified provided and continues to provide multiple platforms to notify and engage families in Spanish, English, and Hmong,” Fresno Unified Executive Information Officer Amy Idsvoog told the Education Lab.
Slatic, EL parents say FUSD needs to do more to help EL students
But while the ruling clears the district of any wrongdoing, parents — and at least one elected FUSD trustee — say Fresno school are still failing EL students and more needs to be done to help students reclassify and graduate.
“Are we meeting the moral and ethical standards to ensure we can save these kids’ lives?” Trustee Terry Slatic asked during a recent interview with The Bee’s Ed Lab. “Not in a million years.”
According to the California Department of Education, the overall graduation rate for Fresno Unified students in 2018-19 was 85.8%. But, for the district’s long-term English-learning students, that rate was 68.1%, according to district officials.
EL students have some of the lowest graduation rates and, according to 2021-2022 LCAP reports, among the highest dropout rates at FUSD. According to the 2018-2017 school year report, FUSD EL students had a dropout rate of 13.80%, compared to the overall FUSD rate of 8.70%.
Slatic said trustees representing the areas EL parents live in have the power to call a special board meeting to discuss the complaint and the educational concerns of EL parents and possible resources for these students but till now, nothing has happened.
The Education Lab reached out to board members Valerie Davis, Veva Islas, and Elizabeth Johnson-Rosas but did not receive a response.
Can COVID relief funding help Fresno’s English-learning students?
FUSD received more than $700 million in coronavirus-relief funding intended, at least in part, to help mitigate learning loss.
According to the 2021-2022 LCAP budget, FUSD plans on adding more resources for English Learner students using some of the millions in COVID-19 funding the district received this year. Some of those resources include adding more administrators to schools with high EL populations and adding more dual immersion programs.
However, most of the new dual immersion programs will not be going to the schools with the highest English Learner populations, according to the district’s LCAP report.
Slatic said he’s unhappy with the district’s plan for English-language learning students.
“Where are the new tutors for the second grade English Language learners?” Slatic asked. “We can get something going right now, this summer, but it’s not, and the trustees in those particular areas aren’t the ones fighting this battle.”
Slatic said a special meeting could allow the trustees to take a closer look at how EL resources are being used and ensure students are receiving the help they need.
The need to reclassify
And researchers say it becomes more difficult for students to succeed in school if they don’t transition to fluency before the end of elementary school.
According to the California School Dashboard, students classified as English Learners make up 18.3% of the entire FUSD student population.
According to Fresno Unified data, during the 2018-2019 school year, 16.63% of English Learner students were reclassified.
But reclassifying as English proficient has only become harder after a year of distance learning due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A report released by the U.S. Department of Education described English Learner students as one of the most vulnerable students in the United States to “falling behind” academically—an issue that was already present before the pandemic hit.
“In many cases, virtual learning effectively foreclosed opportunities for English learners to engage in English-language conversation with adults and with peers, receive intensive language instruction at frequent intervals, and encounter conversational and formal language in a range of social and academic contexts,” the report said.
Alis Aleman, one of the parents of Familias Empoderadas, told the Education Lab that although her daughter already reclassified as English fluent, she began falling behind on her language and reading skills before the pandemic hit.
And it is not just distance learning that has been the issue. Parents around the valley have struggled with proper access to laptops that function, tutors for English Learner students, and digital literacy.
Some parents mentioned they didn’t know what a hotspot was until someone explained it to them, recent reporting by The Bee found.
Fresno Unified officials say they’re still working on a program they say will help determine where all students are academically versus where they should be according to grade-level standards.
The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.
This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 5:00 AM.