OBE-FLS

Bilingual Education and Foreign Language Studies

Pedro J. Ruiz, Ph.D., Coordinator

The Office of Bilingual Education (OBE) provides support to districts in developing and implementing educational programs for limited English proficient/English language learners (LEP/ELL) students. Under the guidance of OBE-FLS, over 625 districts, Charter Schools  and Non-Public Schools implement educational programs and services for over 300,000 LEP/ELL students in our state. These students come from over 200 language backgrounds. Our website has current information on regulations, programs and funding for districts. Please contact us for additional information.

New York State LEP/ELL Demographic Data
From 2009 to 2011 PDF icon ( 57 KB)

(Update - June 2011)

A Statement of Policy and Proposed Action by the Board Of Regents:

(The University of the State of New York, August, 1972)

"The primary goal of the Regents in their bilingual education program is to provide equal educational opportunity for non-English speaking children through activities capitalizing on their proficiency in their native language and developing competence in English. The program affirms the importance of English and at the same time recognizes that the native language and culture of a child can play a major role in his education. There is no experiential substitute for the successful learning experiences gained by non-English speaking children who are permitted and encouraged to learn in their dominant language."

Albany Office

89 Washington Ave.,

Rm. 367 EBA
Albany, NY 12234
Tel. (518) 474-8775

Fax (518) 473-4678

New York City Office

55 Hanson Place,

Room 484-B

Brooklyn, NY 11217

Tel: 718-722-2445

Fax: 718-722-2459


Last Updated: January 9, 2012