Keeping up with Missouri's Growing LEP Population

Abstract

Immigration is growing in areas that have not previously experienced immigrant populations. This trend, coupled with requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), introduces new challenges to school districts across the country to comply with legislation to serve the growing population of Limited English Proficient (LEP) students. As stated in policy note (31-2005), the LEP student growth rate in Missouri has been steady over the past twenty years, with high growth in the past five years. The 2004-05 Missouri LEP Census counted 97 languages of LEP students, which include the top ten languages of: Spanish, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Vietnamese, Arabic, Somali, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Farsi, French and African Tribal. The diversity of languages represents the diversity of students in the classroom, which creates a challenge for instructors to teach students with different language backgrounds.