Over the last three years, 74% of school districts in Kentucky have seen an increase in English language learning.

Students.

According to the Kentucky Department of Education.

This week, Warren County Public Schools, which has more than 5000 multilingual students.

Presented to the Commission on Race and Access and Opportunity in Frankfort about ways the state could better accommodate those students.

Our McKinsey speaking, has more on their proposals and the commission's reaction.

Warren County Public Schools is the fourth largest school district in the state, and 31% of its students speak more than one language.

Representatives from CPS spoke to the Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity to ask for changes in the accountability system that would better support their English learning, or Ell students.

So when we get a student, they get one year of exemption for the state assessment, and then after that, they are expected to perform at the same level of students who have been here multiple years and speak English.

One of the requests is to lengthen the exemption from state assessments for Ell students past one year, in order to give them a greater chance at success.

How much time can we be given before we have to tell a student that, you know, they're novice when they have no shot, right?

Just imagine being in another country, parachute into Burma tomorrow and take their standardized test and see how well you perform.

A student who only attend school for one day and then drops out can negatively impact a school's graduation rate.

Doctor Johnson and Superintendent Clayton say Ell students who only attend school very briefly are disproportionately affecting certain schools success rates.

You may decide that I'm 17 years old or I'm 18 years old, and the chance of me getting enough credits to graduate is overwhelming.

And so it's best to find work and to support my family.

It's very difficult when you have one school where they're going to hit the majority of these students that only come perhaps for a day or two, and it crushes their graduation rate.

What we would like to see is that when we have these situations, how about that accountability move to the district.

The commission was receptive to this presentation.

Republican Senator Lindsey Titchener expressed sympathy for Ell students since she had to learn another language while living overseas as an adult.

The challenge of the considering we have one year, I mean, there's just no way a student can come.

And I think the emphasis, as opposed to focusing on that graduation rate, that shouldn't matter.

It should be do they know how to read the English language?

Hopefully we can find some solutions.

I hope these students get to that proficient level of English in the 2025 session.

Commission Co-Chair Representative Kevin Jackson proposed a bill that would increase supports for Ell students and extend the deadline for grade level proficiency to three years.

The bill did not advanced past Committee for Kentucky edition.

I'm McKenzie Spink.

Thank you.

McKenzie.

Since 2017, the amount of Ell students in the state has grown 89%.

The Kentucky Department of Education says they're the largest growing student population in the state.