Santa Maria-Bonita district explains ILAC, DLAC and how parents can participate

Alejandra Mesa, a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District multilingual department, described how two parent advisory structures—ILAC at the school level and DLAC at the district level—connect families of English learners with school staff. "Ilac es a nivel de escuela, DLAC es a nivel de distrito," she said, explaining that parents can attend school ILAC meetings and that schools also select representatives to attend district DLAC meetings.

Mesa said the groups are intended as information and feedback platforms rather than decision-making bodies: "Estos comités no toman decisiones. Ah, solamente informan..." She said recommendations from ILAC/DLAC are recorded and communicated to school principals and district staff and that those recommendations can guide later decisions by bodies that do have authority, such as the Student Site Council (SSC) or district leadership. Mesa encouraged parents to start by contacting their child’s school to learn meeting dates and to request interpretation services when needed.