Author Description

Results of the National Center for Education Statistics' 1993-94 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) concerning identification of and services to limited-English-proficient (LEP) students are reported in narrative and tabular forms. The survey is the largest and most comprehensive data set available about schools in the United States. Highlights of findings include these: over 2.1 million public school students are identified as LEP, and they account for five percent of all students and 31 percent of all American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic students; LEP students are concentrated in the West, urban areas, and large schools; schools can use a variety of methods for identifying LEP students, most frequently using teacher observation, referral, home language survey, and previous student record; 76 percent of school with LEP enrollments provide English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs and 36 percent have bilingual education programs, with about one-third of schools with LEP enrollments provide both ESL and bilingual education, and 71 percent of LEP students attend these schools; 3 percent of LEP students attend schools with neither program; 42 percent of all public school teachers have at least one LEP student; 30 percent of teachers instructing LEP students have training for it, but few have a related degree. (MSE)