Waiver Process
An LEA that has 20 or more students in a single language classification in kindergarten through grade 12 and must meet the bilingual education requirements of establishing a full-time LIEP. An LEA may request an annual approval from the NJDOE to waive the bilingual education requirement and, instead, to establish an instructional program alternative (See LIEP Types).
Using the same example from the Bilingual Education Requirements section, an LEA would have to implement a full-time program for Spanish speaking multilingual learners in the LEA.
However, an LEA can request for a program waiver. If the age range, grade span and/or geographic location of the LEA’s multilingual learners make it impractical for the LEA to provide a full-time bilingual program.
| Allowable Reason | Example |
|---|---|
| Age | Grouping students of multiple age ranges into a class inhibits developmentally appropriate instruction. |
| Grade |
|
| Geographic Location | Multilingual learners are spread across a large geographic area, and there are insufficient number of multilingual learners in a single language group to form a full-time LIEP in one school. |
Example: LEA-A
Across all schools, LEA A has a total of 25 Spanish speaking multilingual learners. The students are in various grade levels:
-
- Grade 3: 6 students
- Grade 8: 11 students
- Grade 10: 8 students
The LEA is requesting a waiver from a full-time program due to grade span.
An LEA may not request a program waiver for any of the following reasons:
- Multilingual learners’ English language proficiency is higher (e.g., 3.5 or higher).
- Lack of appropriately certified and/or trained staff.
- Scheduling conflicts.
- Budget or resource constraints.
An LEA must request a waiver if they are unable to implement a full-time LIEP. The approved waiver remains in effect for one school year at a time.
The program waiver is requested in the Spring prior to the school year it will be implemented. An LEA must request a waiver annually (see LIEP Types).
To request a waiver for the most appropriate LIEP alternative. An LEA should:
- Identify the number of multilingual learners by grade level.
- Disaggregate the number of multilingual learners by language.
- Review student level achievement and performance data by student language group.
- Review student level English language proficiency level by student language group.
- Review LEA data by student language group (e.g., benchmark assessments, classroom grades).
While staff capacity and scheduling are not allowable reasons for requesting a program waiver, these factors along with student data, should be considered when selecting the most effective LIEP.
Status of Program Waiver Requests
LEAs are notified of the status of their program waiver request via electronic correspondence to the chief school administrator. The program waiver request status may be:
Approved: The LEA is approved to implement the instructional program alternative(s) requested in the waiver.
Conditional: The LEA is temporarily approved to implement the instructional program alternative(s) requested in the waiver. The LEA must participate in technical assistance provided by the NJDOE which include, but is not limited to:
- Attend technical assistance sessions hosted by the NJDOE.
- Develop a plan on how they will use their data to ensure they have the staff capacity to implement a full-time LIEP for the following school year.
- Meet with NJDOE staff monthly to discuss the progress and status of the plan they developed.
Disapproved: The LEA is not approved to implement the instructional program alternative(s) requested. An LEA is not approved after a year of being placed in a conditional status and no evidence of proactive steps to implement a plan that meets Chapter 15 requirements. In addition to technical assistance required of LEAs with a conditional status, any LEA that is disapproved has to participate in additional technical assistance provided by the NJDOE which includes, but is not limited to:
- Reviewing and analyzing their student level data.
- Identify a different instructional program alternative to implement.
- Resubmit an amended program waiver request within 30 calendar days of receiving the notification of disapproved status.
Note: Title III, Part A and state requirements require an LIEP is implemented. If an LEA is not implementing an appropriate LIEP for their multilingual learners, then conditions may be placed on allocations and/or use of funding.
Several scenarios are provided below to illustrate program waiver requests status.
Scenario 1: LEA A has 137 Gujarati-speaking, 77 Spanish-speaking, 16 Korean-speaking, and 3 Twi-speaking multilingual learners. The LEA must offer a full-time LIEP to the Gujarati- and Spanish-speaking students. At minimum, the Korean students must receive ESL only and the Twi speakers may receive English language services. A waiver request is submitted only for the Gujarati- and Spanish-speaking students. The LEA demonstrates that the 137 multilingual learners who speak Gujarati are spread across 9 schools, therefore geographic location does not allow for a practical implementation of a full-time LIEP. The LEA request to implement a Sheltered English program which most appropriately supports these students who have higher ELP levels. For the Spanish-speaking students, the LEA is requesting to implement a Bilingual Part-Time program. Many of the students are newcomers with lower ELP levels and benefit from more primary language support. The NJDOE reviews the submission and may approve the LEA waiver request.
Scenario 2: LEA B has 439 Spanish-speaking, 198 Chinese-speaking, and 25 Amharic-speaking multilingual learners. The LEA must offer a full-time LIEP for all language groups. A waiver request is submitted for all groups due to grade level. The LEA proposes to implement a Bilingual Part-Time Program at the elementary level, High-Intensity at the middle school level, and Sheltered English at the high school level. For the Spanish-speaking students the LEA offer Bilingual-Part Time at the elementary grades. For the Chinese speaking students, the LEA requests to implement a High-Intensity program for the elementary grades and Sheltered English for the middle school grades. The LEA request to implement a Sheltered English program for the Amharic speakers who are in various high school grades. The NJDOE reviews the submission and request additional information for the Spanish-speaking students at the elementary grades because there are sufficient students in adjacent grades to form a full-time LIEP. The additional information indicates these students have a high ELP level. However, since this is not an allowable reason, the NJDOE may conditionally approve the waiver because although the LEA is providing some primary language support, they are not meeting the requirement at N.J.A.C. 6A:15.
Scenario 3: LEA C has 1343 Arabic-speaking, 674 Polish-speaking, 9 Tagalog-speaking, and 8 Hindi-speaking multilingual learners. The LEA must offer a full-time LIEP for the Arabic and Polish speakers. A waiver request is submitted for all groups due to age span. The LEA request to implement Sheltered English for all multilingual learners. The students are all at the elementary grade level. The NJDOE reviews the submission and request additional information for all language groups because there are sufficient students in adjacent grades to form a full-time LIEP. The additional information indicates, most students have a low ELP level and can benefit from primary language support. This LEA was conditionally approved last year. Therefore, this year, the NJDOE may disapprove the waiver request.
Changes in Multilingual Learner Numbers
LEAs that experience a midyear demographic change in multilingual learners for whom a program waiver is requested do not have to resubmit a new waiver request. LEAs that did not submit a waiver request and midyear reach the threshold for providing a full-time LIEP do not have to submit a waiver request until the following school year. In both scenarios, LEAs shall use the current year as a proactive planning period to meet the requirements at N.J.A.C. 6A:15-1.4 for the following year.
LEAs that experience a midyear demographic change in multilingual learners shall use the current school year as a proactive planning period, to meet the requirements for the upcoming school year. Below are suggested action steps to consider during the planning period.
Demographic Changes
- Anticipate transient trends amongst multilingual learner student groups.
- Assess increase and decrease fluctuations in grade levels.
- Consider socio-political current news and its impact on anticipated immigration patterns.
Teacher Capacity
- Determine current number of teachers by certification type.
- Ascertain prospective number of teachers needed by certification type.
- Identify current teachers and paraprofessionals with fluency in another language.
- Identify current teachers across all grade levels and content area with an interest in:
- A bilingual/bicultural endorsement.
- An ESL endorsement.
- Train all teachers in sheltered English instruction strategies.
Teacher Recruitment
(NJDOE Broadcast)
- Review the current job posting.
- Attend college fairs at Institutes of higher education which are members of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.
- Set-up recruitment tables at national conferences.
- Get to know parents of multilingual learners and their profession and interests in their home country; many arrive with advanced schooling completed.
- Incentivize middle school and high school students on a path to earning the Seal of Biliteracy as long-term planning for bilingual teachers.
Budgeting & Resources
( to EWEG)
- Be knowledgeable of budgets across federal Title programs, not just Title III.
- Become familiar with allowable expenses across federal Title programs to encourage blending of funds (Maximizing Federal Funds).
- Set up a meeting with other Title program coordinators.
- Review EWEG needs assessment; determine priorities and budget allocation.
- Meet with business administrator and human resources to discuss staffing needs.