DOE Flunks in Comptroller Lander’s Audit of English Language Learning Services

DOE Flunks in Comptroller Lander's Audit of English Language Learning Services

New York, NY - In a new audit released at the start of the school year, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander reveals system-wide non-compliance and profound failures in the Department of Education's (DOE) English Language Learners (ELLs) services, which denied legally mandated services to thousands of students. These failures disproportionately impact Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Bengali, and Arabic-speaking communities, with Spanish-speaking students representing 67 percent of all ELLs.

"In the world's greatest city of immigrants, English Language Learner programs are the cornerstone of the City's work to deliver equal access for all students, no matter what language they speak or where they come from," said Comptroller Brad Lander. "Our audit finds that the DOE routinely denied this promise to thousands of young New Yorkers and their families-many who yearn to integrate into their schools, their communities, and the city. As families go back to school, City Hall has both a legal obligation to comply with state statutes and a moral obligation to provide an equal opportunity to learn."

New York State requires school districts, which includes DOE, that receive foundation aid to provide ELL students with equal access to all school programs and services offered to non-ELL students. State law and regulations define ELLs as students who speak or understand a language other than English, speak or understand little or no English, and require support to become proficient in English. New York State Education Department regulations, known as CR Part 154, govern a process that must identify ELLs, which must be performed when a student initially enrolls in or reenters a public school.

The audit found that DOE denied legally required courses or instructional minutes to 48 percent of sampled ELL students. A shocking 40 percent of sampled students were taught by teachers not fully qualified to teach ELLs. These systemic breakdowns left students without required courses, sufficient instructional time, and instruction from properly credentialed teachers. The City's ELL population's instructional neglect grew from 148,933 to 174,014 students over the last three years, marking a 16.8 percent increase.

The audit assessed the DOE's compliance with state laws designed to ensure equal educational access. The audit underscores that the agency's failures to provide fully qualified teachers, appropriate instruction, and legally required bilingual programs worsen longstanding inequities for students of color. DOE's failures disproportionately left behind Spanish-speaking students, who represent 67 percent of all ELLs, alongside large numbers of Chinese, Russian, Bengali, and Arabic-speaking students.

The comprehensive audit builds on the Office's work to sound the alarm on the City's failure to adequately resource schools with asylum seekers in 2022 and its deficient special education services in 2023.

Key Findings from the Audit:

• Widespread Instruction Shortfalls: Schools did not provide 48% of sampled ELL students with the legally required courses or the minimum instructional minutes, crippling students' language development and academic progress.
• Improper Denial of Bilingual Programs: The DOE filed 146 waiver requests to avoid creating mandated Bilingual Education Programs, exceeding the state's five-year waiver cap. This disproportionately denied access for:
  • Russian-speaking communities: 41 improper waivers impacted 3,200 students, largely in Brooklyn Districts 20, 21, and 22.
  • Bengali-speaking communities: 31 improper waivers impacted 2,456 students across Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens.
  • Arabic-speaking communities: 16 improper waivers impacted 1,168 students.
  • Uzbek communities: 14 improper waivers impacted 654 students.
  • Haitian-Creole communities: 14 improper waivers impacted 525 students.
• Unqualified Instructors: 40% of sampled ELL students were taught by one or more teachers without the required certifications.
• Parental Rights Ignored: The DOE failed to maintain critical records for 31% of sampled students, providing no evidence that DOE informed parents of their rights in their preferred language, eroding trust and access for all families.

The audit also identifies areas for improvement, including expanding bilingual programs, recruiting qualified teachers, and fixing broken communication with families.

• Waiver Abuse: The DOE must correct its use of waivers and expand bilingual programs in high-demand districts like South Brooklyn and Queens.
• Teacher Recruitment & Certification: The DOE has no effective system to ensure students are taught by qualified teachers and must urgently recruit and certify educators for high-need languages like Arabic, Bengali, and Russian.

To address the findings and rectify these failures, the audit proposes that the DOE:

1. Finalizes rules for implementing a tracking and monitoring system for Bilingual Education and English as a New Language (ENL) Programs to ensure schools adequately serve students.
2. Implements and further develop a system to monitor ENL units of study to ensure that students receive all required ENL minutes by a certified ENL teacher, in compliance with CR-Part 154.
3. Continues their efforts to recruit more qualified teachers for English Language Learners program classes and encourage current DOE personnel to obtain the required certifications to become ELL-certified educators.
4. Develops a centralized system for tracking teachers Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) hours, to ensure that they receive the minimum 50% of required professional development hours, as outlined in CR Part 154. Additionally, DOE should designate a team to monitor CTLE compliance and provide periodic status reports.

   Continues to conduct regular audits and inspections during ML/ELL School Support Survey visits to ensure completion of all required ELL-critical documentation at the school-level, including retaining students' cumulative records and accurately entering in ATS.

5. Improves oversight of waiver requests, evaluate recruitment efforts, and expand bilingual programs in high-demand districts to reduce reliance on waivers and ensure ELL students receive appropriate language services.
6. Implements standardized procedures to ensure that all schools provide complete and accurate ELL program information to parents/guardians in Parent Survey and Program Agreement Forms.
7. Establishes a centralized process to collect, analyze, and act on data from the Parent Survey and Program Agreement Forms across all schools.
8. Develops and implements a centralized tracking system for waitlist and transfer requests in ATS and enhance oversight to ensure all bilingual program preferences are honored timely.
9. Implements a school-level monitoring system to ensure completed ELL identification processes in accordance with their Policy and Reference Guide and CR Part 154.

"The Comptroller's audit highlights challenges we also hear from the families we serve - many parents are unaware of their children's ELL status or what supports should be in place, and others worry that their children are not receiving adequate help to learn English. We encourage NYCPS to engage parents by holding mandated ELL parent meetings and to ensure every student is identified immediately upon enrollment and served by licensed ENL teachers," said Rita Rodriguez-Engberg, Immigrant Students' Rights Project Director at Advocates for Children of New York.

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