The Justice Department reached a settlement agreement yesterday with the Mercer County School District in West Virginia. 

With the district’s cooperation, the department conducted an extensive examination of the district’s English Language Learner (ELL) program to determine whether the district’s ELL students were receiving adequate services as required by the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974.

The three-year settlement agreement will ensure that this rural district takes appropriate action to serve its small but growing and widely dispersed ELL population. 

The district has agreed to dedicate funding, resources and time through the end of 2014 toward teacher professional development, ELL-specific materials and translator and interpreter services. 

The district also has agreed to adopt policies to identify incoming ELL students properly through a home language survey and testing, to identify and serve special education ELLs and to monitor the academic performance of current, former and opt-out ELL students.