Despite extensive legislation on the subject, more than 44,000 (40%) of the limited-English proficient (LEP) students in New York City are not receiving the legally required language instruction due to them, and only 30% of entitled students receive the full bilingual instructional program that is prescribed by law. Entitled LEP students constitute 14% of all district students and 10% of all high school students. Seventy-two percent of entitled students speak Spanish, while five other language groups make up another 20%. Funding for LEP programs in New York City schools was more than $62 million in 1985 from non-city sources alone, with the growth in funding increasing 14-fold since 1974; however, fund allocation does not reflect this financial input. Only approximately 4% of the licensed teaching staff is bilingual and is expected to serve 12% of all students who are bilingual. LEP services are limited and in many instances in flagrant violation of existing mandates. Recommendations for improving this situation include the creation of a plan with the following precepts: (1) expand the number of magnet bilingual programs in the districts so that there is one for each major language group at each level per district; (2) expand the number of high schools offering full bilingual programs; (3) enforce compliance with the requirement that every entitled student receive ESL instruction; (4) recruit adequate numbers of bilingual teachers and provide training for out-of-license teachers; and (5) track expenditures to insure that all funds meant for LEP services are used for that purpose in a manner consistent with their governing regulations. (CG)