Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice visited the Manassas City Public Schools this week to determine if the system is dedicating enough resources to students who speak foreign languages.

The federal government looked into the city's schools in the fall, expressing concern a school system serving many speakers of other languages should put more money toward educating its significant population of English for Speakers of Other Languages programs.

The schools' student-teacher ratio of 59-to-1 in the program was well below other systems with smaller percentages of students learning English as a second language, well below Loudoun County (20-1), Fairfax County (32-1) and Alexandria (36-to-1).

"They are here to make sure, to see that we were allowing all students to receive equal education, including how you are handling the influx," city schools spokeswoman Al Radford said. "They are going through all of our schools at each level just to observe."

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The nine schools' ESOL population multiplied almost five times between 1999 and 2007, and is now 32 percent of the 6,200 student population this year.

In a letter in the fall, the Justice Department's Equal Opportunities Section of the Civil Rights Division began its review following an article about the teacher-ratio disparities in the Washington Post.

"We are writing to ensure that you are aware of your responsibilities regarding [English Language Learner] students in your school district and that such students are identified and provided appropriate services," wrote Emily H. McCarthy, special litigation counsel for the section.

Justice spokesman Erik Ablin declined a request for comment Friday.

The school is taking the review in stride, Radford said. "One of the things our superintendent says often: 'We are about the business of teaching and learning' and anyone who visits our schools will see that is what we do."

dgenz@dcexaminer.com