§ 17:273.3 — Foreign language immersion programs; creation by local school boards; parent

Louisiana § 17:273.3

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 17: Credit Union Law

Text

§273.3. Foreign language immersion programs; creation by local school boards; parent
petition
A. This Section shall be known and may be cited as the "Immersion School Choice
Law".
B. The legislature finds that:
(1) Research indicates that students who participate in foreign language immersion
programs, particularly French, demonstrate greater levels of proficiency in the English
language, higher overall academic achievement, and higher levels of self-esteem.
(2) Learning a second language has a positive effect on intellectual growth and
increased awareness of diverse cultures through access to history, art, and literature.
(3) Students in foreign language immersion programs have been shown to
demonstrate enhanced cognitive functions in solving complex problems and mathematical
computations through the development of more divergent and higher order thinking skills.
(4) In Louisiana, French language development and French language immersion
programs, in particular, provide a better understanding of the state's social traditions and
serve to promote, preserve, and develop our unique bilingual culture.
C.(1) Any local public school board may establish a foreign language immersion
program in any school under its jurisdiction that shall be open to the enrollment of any
student who resides within the jurisdictional boundaries of the school district.
(2)(a) Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, a local school board, if requested
in writing by the parents or legal guardians of at least twenty-five students seeking to be
enrolled in kindergarten or of at least twenty-five students seeking to be enrolled in first
grade who reside within the jurisdictional boundaries of the school district, shall establish
a foreign language immersion program for such students, provided that all of the following
apply:
(i) The parent or legal guardian of each student commits, in writing, that the student
will participate in the program.
(ii) The requisite number of written requests are submitted to the local school board
not later than January thirty-first prior to the school year in which the program is to be
established.
(iii) The minimum foundation program formula provides funding to local school
systems employing foreign language teachers to provide salary supplements for such teachers
at a level equal to or greater than the level of funding provided for this purpose through such
formula for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
(iv) A sufficient number of foreign language teachers with the required credentials
as prescribed by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education are available
through programs administered by the Department of Education and the Council for the
Development of French in Louisiana to establish the program.
(v) There is no existing foreign language immersion program offered by the local
school board, in the same foreign language being proposed, that has been certified by the
State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education pursuant to R.S. 17:273.2.
(b) Such program shall be continued as long as at least twenty students remain
enrolled in the program.
(c) The local school board shall ensure that any foreign language immersion program
established pursuant to this Section is designated as a Certified Foreign Language Immersion
Program by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in accordance with R.S.
17:273.2 within three years from the date such program is established.
(d) The local school board shall review the written requests submitted pursuant to
this Paragraph and shall notify the parents or legal guardians not later than February fifteenth
of its determination as to whether or not the required number of requests was submitted.
(e) The local school board shall inform the parents and legal custodians of all
students enrolled in the school system about the existence of any newly established foreign
language immersion program and shall permit all eligible students to apply for the program
during the designated enrollment period for the school year.
(f) The local school board shall consider the location of all students applying for a
foreign language immersion program and shall make reasonable attempts to place the
program in schools located near the majority of the students who applied.
D. Notwithstanding any provision of R.S. 17:158 to the contrary, a local school
board shall not be required to provide transportation to any student enrolled in a foreign
language immersion program established pursuant to this Section that is located outside of
the attendance zone of the school the student would otherwise attend, if providing such
transportation would result in additional transportation costs to the school system.
E. A local public school board shall not deny enrollment in a foreign language
immersion program to any student if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The minimum foundation program formula provides funding to local school
systems employing foreign language teachers to provide salary supplements for such teachers
at a level equal to or greater than the level of funding provided for this purpose through such
formula for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
(2) A sufficient number of foreign language teachers with the required credentials
as prescribed by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education are available
through programs administered by the Department of Education and the Council for the
Development of French in Louisiana to accommodate all interested students in the program.
(3) The student resides within the jurisdictional boundaries of the school district.
(4) The student applies for enrollment in such a program by no later than April
fifteenth of the school year prior to such enrollment.
(5) If the student is entering second grade or above, he is sufficiently proficient in
the target language or is transferring from a certified foreign language program in another
Louisiana school district.
F. The requirements of Subparagraph (C)(2)(b) and Subsection E of this Section
shall apply to a foreign language immersion program established prior to the 2012-2013
school year. The local school board shall ensure that such program is designated as a
Certified Foreign Language Immersion Program by the State Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education in accordance with R.S. 17:273.2 by not later than July 1, 2017.
G. Nothing in this Section shall contravene any order of a court of competent
jurisdiction providing for the assignment of pupils within the school system.
H. For purposes of this Section, "foreign language immersion program" means any
type of dual language immersion program in French or Spanish.

Legislative History

Acts 2013, No. 361, §1; Acts 2014, No. 196, §1, eff. July 1, 2014; Acts 2018, No. 622, §1.