Assembly bill designates $20 million for California’s English
language learners
Gilroy – A bill that earmarks $20 million for a program serving California’s significant English language learner population was signed by the Governor last week.
Assembly Bill 2117 includes a competitive grant project which school districts will be able to apply for at a rate of $200 per ELL student.
Schools who receive the money must use it to identify the best teaching practices for English learners in regards to curriculum, instruction, staff development and language acquisition and development.
Martha Martinez, Gilroy Unified School District administrator of state and federal programs, said she hasn’t read the fine print of the bill yet and district officials will have to review the grant application before determining whether they’ll apply.
“It’s a great deal of money so we would certainly take a look at it,” she said. “It’s just too new to tell what it means.”
The bill establishes a three-year pilot program that will be run through the 2007-08 to 2009-10 school years. For the GUSD, where more than 30 percent of the population has been identified as ELL, the extra money would be appreciated. The district just finished the California English Language Development Tests, an assessment for ELL students, and new students who qualify as English learners are always coming in, Martinez said.
“We’re always looking at ELL,” she said.
Written by Assemblyman Joe Coto, D-San Jose, the bill was designed to assist that state’s 1.6 million English language learners.
