Meta Consent Decree

The Multicultural Education and Training Advocacy (META Consent Decree) was a settlement agreement in 1990 that addressed children’s rights to equal education (The META Consent Decree).   While it does not create any new rights, the Consent Decree will balance some inadequate attention and instruction given to English Language Learners (ELL).   The META Consent Decree not only demands that instructional leaders provide equal access for all educational programs, but delivers the backbone of the quality of comprehensible instruction that ELL and all students deserve (FDOE, Bureau of Student Achievement through Language Acquisition Consent Decree).   The Consent decree established six major standards for the principal to ensure “all students will have equal access to comprehensible instruction by appropriately certified personnel with such instruction validated by defensible assessment practices.”   (The META Consent Decree)  

The first standard is identification and assessment where all ELL students are strictly identified and properly assessed in order to be placed into an appropriate program for their development.   This initial step is almost solely the responsibility of the instructional leader, ensuring that the proper diagnostic measures are in place.   The ELL student continues to get formal assessments to ensure program quality as well as to evaluate the program and instruction in the classroom.   The next standard is equal access to appropriate programming where the student is offered the opportunity to be in a State or District sanctioned program that promotes the development of skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing of English sufficient to enable the student to be English proficient.   In addition, it is up to the principal to involve the parents and those influencing the student at home to guarantee that the student has the support network to further these skills outside of the classroom.   The third standard is equal access to appropriate...