Mich. District To Boost Programs For Immigrant Students

posted on: Aug 15, 2014

A Detroit-area school district with a growing Arab-American population has agreed to improve its programs for students with limited English skills and to potentially hire more educators of Arab descent.

In a 31-page agreement with the Department of Justice, the Crestwood School District in Dearborn Heights says it “shall take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal and meaningful participation by” students with limited English skills.

The settlement also requires the district to provide school documents in both English and foreign languages such as Arabic and to promote a more diverse staff. The agreement was released in both Arabic and English.

“This is a great victory for the Arab-American community and its children to become contributing citizens in our country,” said Shereef Akeel, a Troy attorney who filed a federal complaint in 2011 on behalf of Hiam Brinjikji, a counselor in the school district who complained about the district’s neglect of Arab immigrant students.

District officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

Brinjikji, who is of Arab descent, said in the federal complaint that she complained about the lack of attention to Arab-American students who didn’t know English well. She also said the district wasn’t hiring enough Arab-Americans and said she was retaliated against for complaining.

Last year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that the Crestwood district had violated federal civil rights laws.

But in Wednesday’s agreement, “the district admits no liability to violations of” a 1974 federal law banning discrimination in education.

The agreement gives detailed, specific instructions to Crestwood on how to improve its programs for those with limited English skills. The district has to ask all parents to fill out a home language survey to identify potential students who don’t know English well.

“The District shall provide ESL (English as a Second Language) instruction to all students who do not receive proficient (test) scores for each of the four language domains of speaking, listening, reading, and writing,” the agreement said.

All teachers must be rated on how effectively they administer one of the programs. And the district has to report on their progress at various points over the next four years.

The agreement also says the district must hire sufficient interpreters and translators so that all letters, notices, and other documents are available in languages needed. The agreement doesn’t specify Arabic, but given that the agreement centered around complaints from Arab-Americans, it will probably include that.

Other requirements of the agreement include increased community outreach, more diversity in hiring, and developing anti-retaliation programs.

USA Today
Niraj Warikoo