§273.2. Foreign language immersion programs; certification process; criteria

A. The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall develop and implement a process to certify foreign language immersion education programs as a means to provide statewide standards for foreign language immersion programs and assist and support schools and school districts in establishing and maintaining high quality, highly effective foreign language immersion programs.

B.(1) Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year and annually thereafter, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall designate any foreign language immersion program that consistently meets the criteria listed below as a "Certified Foreign Language Immersion Program".

(a) Adherence to state guidelines governing the minimum time of daily instruction in the immersion language.

(b) High quality immersion language teaching time.

(c) Protection of the written and oral forms of the immersion language as the exclusive language of communication within immersion teaching time.

(d) Evidence of immersion language teaching throughout content area teaching time.

(e) Immersion language teachers who possess native-like fluency in the immersion language.

(f) Articulated professional development on best practices for immersion teachers, English-speaking team teachers, and school administrators.

(g) Provision of student remediation, as needed, in the immersion language.

(h) Articulation, or planned articulation, throughout the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels of education.

(i) Visibility and recognition of the foreign language immersion program throughout the school.

(j) Written policies regarding entry into and exit from the foreign language immersion program.

(2) Notice of receipt of State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education designation as a "Certified Foreign Language Immersion Program" shall be included on the school's annual report card compiled by the Department of Education and in the academic records of each student enrolled in the program.

C. The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall promulgate rules to implement the provisions of this Section in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

D. For purposes of this Section, "foreign language immersion program" means any type of dual language immersion program in French or Spanish.

Acts 2011, No. 212, §1, eff. June 27, 2011; Acts 2018, No. 622, §1.