The number of Fairfax County students who speak a foreign language at home is likely to surpass 50 percent of the school population for the first time this month, reflecting a surge of immigrant families in Northern Virginia, school officials said.
As total enrollment reached an all-time high of 181,500 students when school began Tuesday, Fairfax also saw a major increase in those who will need English language lessons. This year, about 31,500 students are projected to enroll in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), representing 17 percent of the total county student population and an increase of nearly one-third from last year.
Those numbers have profound financial implications for the school system, which spends $3,300 per student for ESOL lessons, county budget records show. With 7,652 new students in ESOL this year, that represents an additional $25.3 million.
Though federal law requires schools to offer English language lessons, federal funding cannot be used for such instruction, putting most of the costs in the hands of local governments.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/number-of-fairfax-students-who-speak-a-foreign-language-at-home-to-surpass-50-percent/2012/09/08/de47a92a-f84d-11e1-8253-3f495ae70650_story.htm
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