March 2001

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, SECONDARY AND CONTINUING EDUCATION
ALBANY, NY 12234

LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH (LOTE)

  1. Which students are required to meet the new (LOTE) graduation requirements in languages?

    2. The new requirements must be met by students who enter ninth grade in fall 2001.

  2. What is the new LOTE requirement for the Regents diploma?

    3. Students must complete two units of study of Checkpoint A LOTE and must earn one high school credit by the end of the ninth grade.

  3. Must all students pass the Second Language Proficiency (SLP) exam in order to earn the one high school credit?

    4. No. Students who complete Checkpoint A in grade eight or below must take and pass the SLP in order to earn the credit.

  4. What about students who complete Checkpoint A in grade nine? How do they earn the high school credit?

    5. These students will earn the one high school credit by either taking and passing the SLP at the end of the course or by passing the course itself (without the SLP).

  5. Must the students pass the SLP and the course, for those who complete Checkpoint A in grade eight or below, in order to earn the high school credit?

    6. If the student is in a one-year accelerated Checkpoint A program (traditionally in grade eight), he/she must take and pass the SLP plus pass the course in order to earn this credit.

  6. Must all students meet the LOTE requirements for the Regents diploma?

    7. ALL students must meet the requirement in LOTE except those who have an IEP that identifies a disability that "....adversely affects the child’s ability to learn a LOTE."

  7. Can a child with an IEP exemption in LOTE still earn the Regents diploma?

    8. Yes, but the one credit of LOTE must be replaced by another high school level credit.

  8. What is the passing score on the SLP?

    9. The passing score is 65.

  9. Will students be allowed to challenge the SLP?

    10. In cases where there is an SLP examination, students will be able to continue to challenge the exam, providing that they meet the requirements for a challenge:

    • administrator approval;
    • appropriate school project to reflect the type of learning activities normally done in the classroom; plus
    • a score of 85 on the exam.
  1. When must study in LOTE be made available to students?

    2. LOTE must be provided to students no later than grade eight.

  2. Will any course in a LOTE meet the 1 unit of credit requirement?

    3. No. The course must be a Checkpoint A level course. It must be a high school level course that follows the New York State syllabi: Modern Languages for Communication, Modern American Sign Language for Communication, or Latin for Communication.

  1. What are the provisions for transfer students from out-of-state?

    2. Students who transfer into the New York State public school system are required to meet this requirement. At the high school level, it can be fulfilled by passing a Level One/Checkpoint A course in a LOTE.

  2. Will the State Education Department be providing January SLP examinations?

    3. No. The SLP is given in June only.

  1. What happens to the student who fails the SLP at the end of grade eight?

    2. This student is required to complete a Checkpoint A course and earn the one high school credit. This should be a Level One course in the high school. The student would then need to either pass the Level One course or the SLP at the end of the class in order to earn the credit.

  2. If the student does not earn the high school credit by the end of grade nine, is that student now exempt from fulfilling this requirement?

    3. No, the student is not exempted from the requirement. The student must still continue to take and pass a high school Level One course in order to earn the required credit for graduation or take and pass the SLP.

  3. Can the school substitute a locally developed exam in lieu of the SLP when completing Checkpoint A in grades eight or below?

    4. Where available, the school must use the SLP exam in grades 8 and below.

  4. What does a school do in cases where the State Education Department does not offer the SLP in a particular language?

    5. The school may use a locally developed examination that supports the format and content of Checkpoint A.

  5. After passing the SLP in grade eight, what course is the student prepared to take?

    6. Once the student has earned the credit for Level One LOTE, by passing the SLP examination, the student may advance to Level Two in that language.

  6. Can seat time be reduced for those students who need academic intervention services yet are not exempted by an IEP?

    7. Yes. Those students requiring academic intervention services may have the two units of seat time reduced to one unit of seat time. However, this does not mean that the student is exempted from fulfilling this requirement, and the LOTE must begin by grade 8.

  7. May the LOTE requirement be met in more than one language?

    8. Technically, the two-unit seat time requirement may be met in more than one language. However, the student must still achieve Checkpoint A proficiency in one LOTE and earn one high school credit by the end of grade nine in order to meet the requirements for the Regents diploma.

  8. Are those students who have been identified as pursuing the five units of credit sequence in occupational education, art or music exempted from the requirement for one unit of credit in LOTE?

    9. No. All students must complete this requirement for the Regents diploma, unless the IEP clearly indicates an exemption in LOTE.

  9. Is a LOTE required for those students pursuing the Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation?

    10. Students must take and pass a LOTE Comprehensive Regents examination unless they opt for the five-unit sequence in either career and technical education or the arts.

  10. Where does one place a transfer student, in grade 8, with no LOTE experience into an already existing program?

    11. In this scenario, the student should take the grade 8, second half of Checkpoint A. Passing the SLP would give the student the one unit of high school credit.

  11. Is summer school a possibility for meeting these requirements?

    12. A summer school option is only appropriate under the following two conditions:

  • Student has completed the two units of study requirement; and
  • Student has failed either the SLP or the high school course.

The summer school program would be a high school Level One program. The student would need to pass this course in order to earn the high school credit.  This summer program is only available to high school students.

Special Situations

  1. Credit for participation in bilingual education programs.

    2. Students may be awarded one unit of credit in a LOTE for each year of successful participation in bilingual education programs in grades 8-12.

  2. Credit for education and residence in an other-than-English-speaking environment.

    3. Schools may award three to five Regents credits for documented school attendance and residence in an other-than-English-speaking environment, provided that the experience occurs at age 11 or older and that the residence resulted in direct contact with that environment and its people. At age 12, the school may award four credits under the above conditions, and at age 13, the school may award the maximum of five Regents credits. No more than five units of credit of LOTE may be awarded for school attendance in an other-than-English-speaking environment, regardless of the length of the experience.

    No credit may be awarded for residence in a bilingual home within an English-speaking environment because the amount of foreign language learning that occurs in such situations, cannot be determined adequately.

    Examples:

  1. A student is a native speaker of Spanish by virtue of documented school attendance and residence in Puerto Rico through age 14. This student may be awarded the maximum of 5 units of Regents credit in Spanish without necessarily having to pass the Regents Comprehensive examination.
  2. A Vietnamese student enters a New York State public school. The best available evidence (attained through school records, personal interviews, etc.) indicates that the student attended Vietnamese schools for a total of four years through age 11, and entered New York State schools at that time. It was also ascertained that all education was rendered in Vietnamese. This student is eligible to receive a maximum of 3 units of Regents credit in Vietnamese for attending school at the age of 11 in Viet Nam. No credit is allowed for the education experience below age 11.
  3. An American high school student has attended one school year in Sweden as an exchange student. She attended a Swedish school and received instruction in Swedish. She lived with a Swedish family and had extensive contact with the Swedish environment. On the basis of this experience, this student may be awarded three units of Regents credit in Swedish.