Consent Decree

Consent decree, or consent order

• definition from Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary -- "A court order to which all parties have agreed. It is often done after a settlement between the parties that is subject to approval by the court."
• longer description from West's Encyclopedia of American Law

"The Consent Decree is the state of Florida's framework for compliance with the following federal and state laws and jurisprudence regarding the education of English language learner students:

• Title VI and VII Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Office of Civil Rights Memorandum (Standards for Title VI Compliance) of May 25, 1970
• Requirements based on the Supreme Court decision in Lau v. Nichols, 1974 [414 U.S. 563]
• Equal Education Opportunities Act of 1974 [PL 93-380]
• Requirements of the Vocational Education Guidelines, 1979
• Requirements based on the Fifth Circuit court decision in Castañeda v. Pickard, 1981 [648 F.2d 989]
• Requirements based on the Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe, 1982 [457 U.S. 202]
• Americans with Disabilities Act (PL 94-142)
• Florida Education Equity Act, 1984 [Laws of Florida 84-305]
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Florida's authority for the implementation of the Consent Decree is found in Section 1003.56, F.S, English Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient Students and Rules 6A-6.0900 to 6A-6.0909, F.A.C., Programs for Limited English Proficient Students.

The Consent Decree addresses the civil rights of ELL students, foremost among those their right to equal access to all education programs. In addressing these rights, the Consent Decree provides a structure that ensures the delivery of the comprehensible instruction to which ELL students are entitled."