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Connecticut

As of the 2007-2008 school year, Connecticut's schools were home to more than 30,000 English language learners (ELLs), which marks a 53.8 increase from the 1997-1998 school year (NCELA, 2010). The top five languages or language groups spoken by ELLs in Connecticut are Spanish, Pacific Island languages, Portuguese, Chinese, and French (EPE, 2009).

State ELL Resources

State Agency: Connecticut State Department of Education

ELL Website: Bilingual/ESL Information

ELL Manual: Administrative Resource Handbook for Coordinators of Programs for English Language Learners in Connecticut's Public Schools

Laws & Regulations

The following documents offer additional information about statewide ELL regulations:

• Bilingual Education Statute

  In the Resource Handbook, student's native languages are named as assets and the Bilingual Education Statute requires bilingual education programming when there are over 20 in a single school that speak the same language. (Pg. 7)

• Position Statement on the Education of Students Who Are ELLs (CT State Board of Education)

ELL Identification

Detailed information about identification procedures can be found through the Administrators Resource Handbook and through the state's Bilingual/ESL Resource Page.

Placement Exam: Connecticut's SEA allows some flexibility in identification testing. While it names the same exam used to measure EL proficiency (LAS Links) as a means for providing identification assessments, it also allows districts to use other identification assessments and also encourages districts to use additional means for identifying its ELs including parent interviews. 

Note: Parent notification letters are also available on the state website regarding ELL identification and AMAOs.

ELP Standards & Assessment

ELP Standards: CT ELL Framework (Document)

ELP Assessment: As with each state, Connecticut SEA requires that its public and public charter school students participate in an annual assessment of English language development using Language Assessment Scale [LAS links].

ELL Instruction

The type of ELL programming is determined by the district by "considering the language proficiency levels of the students" (Handbook, 19).

Statewide Standards-Based Assessment

Assessment: Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT)/Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT)

Additional ELL information is available through Assessment Requirements for ELLs.

ELL Accommodations: CT Test Accommodations

Additional Information
 
NCELA: Title III Information

Common Core State Standards: Yes

AFT Connecticut

AFT Connecticut, a statewide affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, has over 28,000 members in more than ninety locals representing teachers and school-related personnel, state and municipal employees, health care professionals, and higher education faculty.

Capitol Region Education Council (CT)

CREC began as a grassroots organization of local school districts in Connecticut working together to solve common problems. Its mission is to work with boards of education of the Capitol Region to improve the quality of public education for all learners.

Connecticut Education Association

Connecticut Education Association is a National Education Association State Affiliate that regularly lobbies legislators for the resources schools need, campaigns for higher professional standards for the teaching profession, and files legal actions to protect academic freedom and the rights of school employees.

Connecticut Family Learning Initiative

The CT State Department of Education's Family Literacy Initiative works to expand, strengthen and coordinate family literacy services in the state. Family literacy publications and resources are available on the program's website, including a family literacy guide in Spanish.

Connecticut State Parent Information Resource Centers

The Connecticut Parent Information and Resource Center (CT PIRC) is a school-based project that works through faith-based and community organizations and is guided by the overarching principle that all families have a critical role to play in their children's educational success.

Connecticut TESOL

ConnTESOL, the Connecticut affiliate of National TESOL, serves the teachers of English to speakers of other languages and their students.

Pakistani American Association of Connecticut

Established in February 2000, the Pakistani American Association of Connecticut is a non-profit organization of Pakistanis, committed to preserving, supporting and enhancing the economic development of Pakistan and Pakistanis in Pakistan and in the United States. PAACT is devoted to remain politically unaffiliated and to deliver its program to promote economic development in Pakistan.

State Education Resource Center (CT)

SERC is a nonprofit agency primarily funded by the Connecticut State Department of Education. SERC provides professional development and information dissemination in the latest research and best practices to educators, service providers, and families throughout the state, as well as job-embedded technical assistance and training within schools, programs, and districts.

References

Editorial Projects in Education (EPE). "Most Common Non-English Languages Spoken by ELL Youths, by State." Perspectives on a Population: English-Language Learners in American Schools (Education Week's Quality Counts 2009 Report). Pg. 13. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2009/01/08/index.html. January 2009.

Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students. Connecticut Rate of EL Growth (1997/98-2007/08). Compiled July 2010 and retrieved from http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/t3sis/state/connecticut/data.