DATE: April 3, 2003

SUBJECT: Foreign Exchange Students

TO: School District Superintendents
AVTS/CTC Directors
Intermediate Unit Executive Directors
Charter School Directors

FROM: Vicki Phillips
Secretary Of Education
Pennsylvania Department Of Education

This memorandum contains a clarification of the May 14, 2002 memorandum, Subject: Foreign Student Exchange.  Contrary to what was previously indicated, foreign exchange students are not required to be identified for English as a Second Language instruction based on Pennsylvania's home language survey.

For your reference, we have included the revised and accurate memorandum below:

The Pennsylvania Department of Education is committed to assist all districts in Pennsylvania to meet challenging state and federal goals and provide appropriate educational programs for the children that reside in our state and country. As a result, foreign exchange students formerly identified for ESL instruction through Pennsylvania's home language survey no longer require assessment for placement in ESL programs and instruction. The United States Department of Education, Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement For Limited English Proficient Students, has issued an official letter to clarify this issue.

The letter states that an important goal is to help English language learners who reside in the United States attain English language proficiency in comprehension, listening, speaking, reading and writing English and achieve challenging academic content standards.  Foreign exchange students come to our country to experience the American culture and at the same time provide our students with the opportunity to learn from other cultures. The Pennsylvania Department of Education supports the educational and cultural values of these programs and encourages school districts to participate and support these cultural enriching programs.