FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
This week, the Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association (IFLTA), led by IFLTA President Megan Worcester, scored a major legislative victory when it managed to prevent the Indiana House of Representatives from eliminating the state’s eight year-old Certificate of Multilingual Proficiency (CoMP) program. If CoMP had been eliminated, Indiana would have become the only state without a Seal of Biliteracy program.
The fight over CoMP began in the middle of January when Rep. Robert Behning, the Chairman of Indiana’s House Education Committee, introduced House Bill 1002, legislation that was intended to remove outdated educational regulations that supported optional educational programs. The original version of HB 1002 would have eliminated the bipartisan and thriving CoMP program on the grounds that it was not a state required program.
As soon as the bill was introduced, IFLTA and JNCL-NCLIS immediately took action. Both organizations sent letters to the House Education Committee objecting to H.B. 1002’s proposal to eliminate CoMP. They also launched a grassroots campaign to alert IFLTA language educators of this issue and to spur them to email Indiana House Education Committee members.
JNCL-NCLIS’s January 14th letter stated that CoMP’s “certificate is of real value as it enables colleges and universities, as well as employers, to see that students with certificates have acquired an important, in-demand and marketable skill.” IFLTA’s letter declared: “Currently all 50 States and Washington, D.C. have a state Seal of Biliteracy which allows students to prove their proficiency level in both English and another language. If we repeal [CoMP] now, we will be taking a giant step backwards in comparison to the states around us.”
These arguments and emails from language education advocates convinced the bill’s lead author and the Committee’s Chair to introduce an amendment to his own bill that removed the language that would have eliminated CoMP. This amendment was passed by Indiana’s House of Representatives yesterday.
“This powerful advocacy effort in Indiana demonstrates how state and national language education advocates can work together and positively impact state legislation,” said JNCL-NCLIS Executive Director Amanda Seewald. “Our seamless collaboration with IFLTA combined with Megan Worcester’s tireless efforts, even while teaching a full course-load, prevented CoMP’s elimination and ensured that Seal of Biliteracy programs will continue to operate in all 50 states.”
Megan Worcester, President of the Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association shared, “Major strides have been made in the past few years to encourage more participation in the CoMP, which has doubled in participants since its inception. We are currently working with leaders across multiple fields to continue to prove its value to lawmakers and the general public as we seek its inclusion in the new High School Redesign. Thanks to JNCL-NCLIS, INTESOL, Central States Conference, and our hundreds of advocates across the state for helping us ensure that this valuable certificate can continue to let students show that multilingualism is truly an asset.”
While this has settled the CoMP issues in the bill, JNCL-NCLIS and IFLTA will continue to work collaboratively to protect Indiana’s dual language immersion grants which also face potential cuts.
Comments