Grapevine-Colleyville parent says district violated education code over dual language program
.jpg "A parent in the Grapevine-Colleyville school district filed a grievance with the Texas Education Agency, alleging that the school district didn’t follow proper procedures regarding an advisory committee for the dual language program.")
CORRECTION: Grapevine-Colleyville bilingual students are under-performing 22% on average compared to their classmates in the monolingual classroom, according to data from local and district assessments. The information was incorrection in an earlier version of this story.
A parent in the Grapevine-Colleyville school district has filed a grievance alleging that officials didn’t follow proper procedures concerning the future of the dual language program.
Amanda Hall filed her grievance with the Texas Education Agency on April 4, shortly after a contentious March 27 school board meeting when parents accused the school district of not listening to their concerns.
Hall provided a copy of the grievance to the Star-Telegram. She alleged that the school district violated several sections of the Texas Education Code concerning an advisory committee that was established last year to evaluate the dual language program for elementary students.
Hall alleges that only parents who were district employees served on the committee, and under the education code, they are not considered “parent representatives.” The grievance also states that a certain number of classroom teachers should serve on the committee and that former superintendent Robin Ryan was told about the committee, but he was not involved or consulted.
“I kindly request that the committee’s findings be disregarded, and another committee formed that meets TEA guidelines,” Hall wrote.
Nicole Lyons, a school district spokesperson, wrote in an email that Grapevine-Colleyville hasn’t been notified about the grievance.
The school district offers a dual language program only for students whose native language is Spanish, known as a one-way dual language program, and another for both English and Spanish native speakers known as two-way.
During the March 27 meeting, trustees heard a presentation recommending that the dual language program should be “phased out.” The board didn’t take any action.
School officials said parents were pulling their children out of the program because of low performance, and that it is becoming less popular.
Bilingual students are under-performing 22% on average compared to their classmates in the monolingual classroom, according to data from local and district assessments.
The school district said it is making modifications that will help improve students’ performance.
Students in Grapevine-Colleyville schools have had the opportunity to enroll in a two-way dual language program starting in elementary school. To date, the program is in a format in which students learn in English for one week then in Spanish the next, alternating back and forth.
The changes to the program would include transitioning students to learning in both English and Spanish every day, with certain subjects taught in each language. That alteration would put the program in line with what is practiced in most other districts in the area that offer two-way dual language opportunities.
Some board members questioned why the program could be discontinued if improvements were made in the dual language program.
This story was originally published April 21, 2023 at 6:00 AM.