What NYS laws are supposed to govern and finance English language learner public education programs?

Foremost, the primary NYS legislation that funds and rules New York State ESL instructional progrmming is the New York State’s Commissioner’s Regulations Part 154. The purpose of Commissioner's Regulations Part 154 known as CR Part 154 is to establish standards for the education of limited English proficient students. In accordance with ESL standards, all districts must provide LEP/ELL students with equal access to all school programs and services offered by the district that commensurate with their ages and grade level, including access to programs required for graduation.
There are two key parts of the NYS Commissioner’s Regulations that govern ESL instructional programming. One is Part 117 and the other is Part 154. Both Parts 117 and 154 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education relate to the screening of new entrants and services for LEP students
The purpose of Commissioner's Regulation Part 117 is to establish standards for the screening of every new entrant to the schools to determine which pupils are possibly gifted, or have a possible handicapping condition and/or possibly are limited English proficient in accordance with subdivision 2-a of section 3204 of the Education Law.

The NYS screening assessment is the Language Assessment Battery-Revised test known as (LAB-R). Pursuant to Regulation Part 117, LAB-R is used for measuring the English language proficiency of a student who may possibly be LEP. The results of the LAB-R are used to determine the type of instructional program into which the student must be placed.

The purpose of Commissioner's Regulation Part 154 is to ensure that LEP and immigrant students attain English proficiency and meet the content area academic standards that all children are expected to meet. In addition, Part 154 is used to mandate LEP student annual assessments and this law is used to design mechanisms to determine pupils' continued eligibility
Pursuant to CR Part 154.2 (c), the test used for the NYS annual assessment of English language proficiency is The NYSESLAT (New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test).

In New York State, The Commissioner’s Regulation (CR) Part 154 is aligned with the Federal requirements of Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB ).
References:
NYS 2010 Part 154 Comprehensive Plan for the Education of Limited English Proficient (LEP) Students
emsc.nysed.gov/biling/docs/2010-2011Part154ApplicationFinal.pdf
and
emsc.nysed.gov/biling/bilinged/faq.html#state

PAGE 3, Parts 117 and 154 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/biling/docs/2010-2011Part154ApplicationFinal.pdf

NYS ESL Assessments:
New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test http://schools.nyc.gov/Accountability/resources/testing/NYSESLAT.htm

Language Assessment Battery-Revised (LAB-R)

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/lab_r/2010/1346.pdf

References:

Equal Educational Opportunities:
http://esltoeflreview.blogspot.com/2010/08/equity-in-higher-education-dream-act.html
and
http://esltoeflreview.blogspot.com/2010/08/id-legal-right-to-esl-and-bilingual.html