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Every LEA must enter Homeroom to certify to NJDOE regarding the enrollment of multilingual learners.

1. Sign into Homeroom application, .
2. Read all instructions.
3. Complete general information (e.g., LEA type, county).
4. Complete the Statement of Assurance.

For LEAs who certify enrollment for at least one multilingual learner, the LEA shall complete and submit a plan to the NJDOE indicating how they will identify multilingual learners, provide effective LIEP services to multilingual learner, exit students from multilingual learner status, and support former multilingual learners to graduate and achieve post-secondary success. LEAs may use an optional LIEP Checklist to assess an LIEP’s design, implementation, and review.

Changes in Multilingual Learners Numbers and LIEPs

LEAs may experience a midyear demographic change in multilingual learners. Any LEAs experiencing such changes may need to change the type of LIEP implemented. LEAs should contact the NJDOE Office of Supplemental Educational Programs via email at ML@doe.nj.gov to inform the NJDOE and receive instructions for next steps.

There are seven components to the LIEP Plan. These statements can be used as a tool for assessing the LEA’s capacity to support multilingual learners. 

1. Identification of Multilingual Learners
   • Has written procedures on how to register, enroll, and identify students who may be multilingual learners.
   • Has the State standardized home language survey (HLS) and parent notification letters translated into multiple languages.
   • Has a procedure for how to implement the multi-step identification process.
   • Properly trains staff to be culturally and linguistically responsive to new families who speak multiple languages and are new to the U.S.
   • Can articulate to parents the benefits of their children participating in an LIEP.
   • Reviews SIS and NJSMART data with the LIEP language specialist to ensure data quality.
2. LIEP Description
   • Has a clear, data-driven, written process based for selecting an LIEP design for multilingual learners, including newcomers and students with interrupted formal education (SIFE).
   • Has the resources (staff, professional development, materials) necessary to effectively implement the chosen LIEP.
   • Has a clear, written process for placement of multilingual learners in LIEPs which promotes bilingualism and grade-level content areas and English language development (ELD) standards by ELP.
   • Creates a master schedule which ensures equitable educational opportunities for multilingual learners to participate in advanced courses and extracurricular activities.
   • Has a multi-disciplinary team that reviews and updates curriculum, resources, and materials to ensure relevance, cultural and linguistic responsiveness (N.J.S.A. 18A:7F-46).
   • Is connected to the NJ Tiered Systems of Supports.
   • Creates a positive culture & climate environment that fosters a sense of belonging for all diverse families and their children.
   • Engages parents and families as partners who contribute to the design of LIEPs for the academic and social-emotional success of their children.
3. Number of Staff Hired for the LIEP
   • Works jointly with the business administrator and title grant coordinator(s) to monitor trends in multilingual learner enrollment and budget for sufficient staffing needs.
   • Collaborates with Human Resources to ensure new hires are culturally and linguistically responsive to the needs of the current student population.
   • Ensures all teachers of LIEPs are appropriately qualified in each content area of instruction.
   • Ensures all teachers receive training on the ELD standards and how to provide adaptational modifications for multilingual learners (N.J.A.C. 6A:8-3.1).
   • Creates an LEA professional development and mentoring plan (N.J.A.C. 6A:9C-4.2(b)(6) and N.J.A.C. 6A:9C-5.3) that supports the retainment of bilingual professionals.
   • Creates pathways to recruit bilingual professionals, and parents with college experience in their home country to interest them in a career as a bilingual teacher.
4. Bilingual and ESL Curriculum (N.J.A.C. 6A:15-1.4, N.J.A.C. 6A:15-1.15).
   • Ensures the curriculum for full-time LIEP and ESL curriculum are aligned to the Early Language Development Standards for preschool, NJSLS and ELD standards.
   • Has resources in multiple modalities (e.g., books, technology applications, realia) that reflect rich authentic representation of MLs’ culture and language.
   • Ensures courses for multilingual learners are designed to be credit-bearing toward graduation requirements.
   • Creates safeguards for age-appropriate, grade-level content in the curriculum.
   • Is responsive to the academic and linguistic learning styles, as well as the social emotional needs of all multilingual learners, particularly newcomers, SIFEs, and Gifted & Talented.
   • Integrates a multicultural curriculum (N.J.S.A. 18A:3-4.36a and N.J.A.C. 6A:7) and supports in the classroom to allow students to demonstrate what they know by using their entire linguistic repertoire.
5. Evaluation Design
   • Has administrators who understand and are trained in what an effective LIEP looks like.
   • Has a criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of the LIEP and modifying or replacing the LIEP if the data shows students are not making the expected progress.
   • Annually, assesses performance and program data to understand the needs of multilingual learners and whether the LIEPs are serving their needs appropriately.
   • Ensure current and former multilingual learners are accessing the State Seal of Biliteracy at rates comparable to students not identified as needing services to develop English Proficiency.
6. Review Process for a Student’s Exit from Multilingual Learner Status (N.J.A.C. 6A:15-1.9)
   • Annually, monitors academic progress of multilingual learners whose parents’ refused placement in an LIEP.
   • Monitors students who exit multilingual learner status for two years.
   • Has a criteria and process for identifying former multilingual learners who may need to re-enter multilingual learner status.
   • Has data on the graduation rate of current and former multilingual learners.
7. Budget Plan of the LIEP
   • Ensures that the budget allocation is aligned to student needs stated in the EWEG.
   • Ensures funding supports supplemental LIEP enhancement, professional development and family engagement (See Title III Funding).
   • Considers how to maximize federal funds to best support multilingual learners.

Resource:

LEAs shall examine past and current data to inform instruction for multilingual learners. Examples of key data sources that contribute to effectively planning successful LIEPs for multilingual learners include:

• LEA school information systems (SIS) data
• Student Identification Data (SID) (student data)
• NJ SMART staff member identification (SMID) data (teacher data)
• LEA professional development plan
• Formative and summative evaluations of LIEPs
• NJ
• LEA accountability data
• Statewide assessment results (e.g., NAEP, NJSLA (ELA and Math), ACCESS, Alternate ACCESS)
• Local Assessments (e.g., summative and formative)
• NJ Seal of Biliteracy data
• Intervention & Referral Services (I&RS) action plans, progress notes, and report cards
• (EWEG) application (public access)
• Application for State School Aid (ASSA) budget

Q. Is my LEA required to submit a Three-Year Plan (Plan)?
A. Any LEA who enrolls at least one multilingual learner shall submit a plan to the NJDOE.

Q. There are no multilingual learners in the LEA, so do I have to submit a Plan?
A. Each LEA shall enter Homeroom and certify whether there are multilingual learners in the LEA. If there are no multilingual learners, the submission will be complete after the statement of assurance.

Q. Does an LEA that serves as a receiving-only district for students with special education needs required to submit a Plan?
A. Each LEA shall enter Homeroom and certify whether there are multilingual learners in the LEA. The sending LEA is responsible for including these students in the plan.

Q. Do educational service commission providing ESL services to nonpublic students need to submit a Plan?
A. Each LEA shall enter Homeroom and certify whether there are multilingual learners in the LEA.

Q. When is the LEA’s Plan submitted?
A. The LIEP Plan is submitted every three years. A broadcast memo is sent to the LEAs with timelines for submission for the next cycle.

Q. How does the LEA submit the Plan?
A. The plan is submitted via Homeroom. Click on the LIEP Plan application. Contact the LEA’s web-user administrator for logon permissions, if necessary.

Q. How does the LEA staff access the homeroom application?
A. Logon permission is necessary for each distinct application in Homeroom. Request permission from the LEA’s web user administrator.

Q. Does a hard copy of the Plan need to be uploaded in Homeroom?
A. Yes. A printable version can be downloaded from Homeroom. Complete the plan on a paper copy to submit for board approval. Upload into Homeroom the completed plan; this is helpful for LEAs who later may need a copy of the plan submitted.

Q. Does the Chief School Administrator have to sign the plan?
A. Yes. A statement of assurance serves as an electronic signature.

Q. Does the plan have to be board approved?
A. Yes. The board of education must review and approve the plan. The LEA may upload the minutes with the board’s approval of the plan into Homeroom. An agenda will not suffice.

Q. The questions on the electronic Forms do not match the numbers on the printable PDF version, why is that?
A. The PDF is a static document containing all the possible questions. The Forms e-version adapts to responses and creates skip patterns. Therefore, the numbers of the questions may not be the same, but the questions will be in the same section.

Q. Can changes to the plan be made?
A. Yes. Responses may be changed at any time by using the back and next buttons to toggle between sections. Questions may be skipped within a section; however, all questions must be answered before going to the next section. Also, if “Other” is selected as a response, text is required in the box.

Q. The LEA is K-6. What is entered for the graduation rate?
A. Select “N/A”.

Q. Can the application be started online and return to it later?
A. No. Once the online version is started, the application must be completed in its entirety. It is recommended that the printable version is completed first and used as a guide to enter responses on the online version once the LEA is ready to submit to the NJDOE.

Q. Can changes be made to the plan once it is submitted?
A. No. Once the “submit” button is clicked, edits to the form responses are not possible. Be certain to carefully review each section prior to clicking “submit”.  It is suggested to download the printable form and complete the plan on hard copy first before transferring the responses onto the online version.