Montgomery County has the oldest public Mandarin immersion program in the United States. Most MI programs seem to be converging on having student take and pass the AP Chinese test in high school, which requires a year or two of high-level Chinese in high school. Not allowing kids who’ve been in immersion for nine years already to continue to the end point is a real problem. It’s the kind of issue that tends to come up with school districts don’t get the K – 12 nature of our programs.
Beth
Parents say language-immersion students hurt by transfer policy changes
Exemptions sought so they can pursue higher-level studies
The changes, meant to prevent overcrowding at some high schools, would hinder their children’s ability to continue upper-level language studies from elementary and middle school-level immersion programs, the parents say.
The school board’s policy committee is set to next discuss comments submitted regarding the changes at its Tuesday meeting.
One proposed change to the transfer policy would require a student who attended a middle school that is not their neighborhood school to reapply to continue on to a high school in the same cluster.
A family who wants to transfer their child to another school must prove a significant hardship to be granted a Change of School Assignment (COSA).
Please read more here.
Mandarin Immersion Parents Council 
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