” ‘The lack of attention to English language learners was glaring in many of the 15 applications for new charter schools in Boston,’ according to the legal-service agency, which was assisted in its research by Boston College Law School’s Latin American Law Students Association.”

” “The finding was troubling, Rice said, because English language learners had long been denied equal educational opportunities in the Boston public schools, which entered into an agreement this fall with the US Education and Justice departments to bring its programs into compliance with federal civil rights laws and state educational guidelines.”