BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 124
AUTHOR: Fuentes
AMENDED: May 27, 2011
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 22, 2011
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Kathleen Chavira
NOTE: This bill has been requested by the Senate Rules
Committee. A "do
pass" motion should include a referral to the
Committee on Senate Rules.
SUBJECT : English language development standards
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the English Language Development
(ELD) Standards Advisory Committee for the purpose of
aligning the ELD standards to the Common Core English
Language Arts (ELA) standards adopted by the State Board of
Education in August 2010.
BACKGROUND
Current law establishes the Academic Content Standards
Commission which was required to develop common core
academic content standards in language and mathematics, as
specified. Pursuant to these provisions, the standards
were presented to the State Board of Education (SBE) which
adopted the proposed common core academic content standards
in English language arts and mathematics on August 2, 2010.
(Education Code § 60605.8)
Current law requires the State Board of Education to
approve English Language development standards for students
whose primary language is other than English. Current law
also requires that these standards be comparable in rigor
and specificity to the standards adopted for English
language arts.
(Education Code § 60811)
Current law also requires the development or acquisition of
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a test or series of tests for assessing the English
language development of students whose primary language is
other than English. The resulting assessment, the
California English Language Development Test (CELDT) serves
three purposes: 1) identifies pupils as limited English
proficient, 2) determines the level of English language
proficiency of these students, and 3) annually assesses the
progress of these students in acquiring the skills of
listening, speaking, reading, and writing in English. Among
other things, current law requires that the test be aligned
with the English Language Development Standards and be age
and developmentally appropriate for students. (Education
Code § 60810)
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Establishes the English Language Development Standards
Advisory Committee to ensure high quality instruction
for English learners as the state implements the
common core academic content standards in English
Language Arts.
2) Delineates the 13 members of the advisory committee
as follows:
a) Four members appointed by the Governor.
b) Three members appointed by the Senate Rules
Committee
c) Three members appointed by the Speaker of
the Assembly
d) Three members appointed by the
Superintendent
3) Requires that these members serve at the pleasure of
the appointing authority.
4) Requires that at least seven of the members appointed
be credentialed public elementary or secondary
classroom teachers authorized for instruction of
English Learners, as specified.
5) Requires the advisory committee to update, revise, and
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align the ELD standards to the ELA adopted standards
and that they be aligned by grade level and be
comparable to and as rigorous as the academic content
standards for English language arts.
6) Subjects the advisory committee meetings to Bagley
Keene Open Meeting provisions.
7) Requires the advisory committee to present its revised
and aligned ELD standards to the State Board by August
31, 2012.
8) Requires the State Board to adopt or reject the ELD
standards by September 30, 2012.
9) Requires the State Board to transmit to the
Superintendent, Governor and the appropriate policy
and fiscal committees of the Legislature, specific
written explanation of their decision, if the
standards are rejected.
10) Requires the SPI and the SBE to present to the
Governor and appropriate policy and fiscal committees
a scheduled and implementation plan for implementing
and integrating the ELD standards into the state
public education system, including, but not limited
to, incorporation of the standards in to the ELD test.
11) Declares the Legislature's intent that the work of the
advisory committee be supported by the use of Title
III federal funds.
12) Makes other technical and conforming changes.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . As noted in the background of this
analysis, pursuant to state law, the State Board of
Education recently adopted the common core standards
in English language arts and mathematics. Although
the common core state standards introductory documents
acknowledge the importance of addressing the
instructional needs of English learners, the State
Board adopted common core standards make no specific
provision for this purpose. According to the author,
because the ELD standards are a critical tool used in
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instructing ELL pupils, the next logical step is for
the state to review the existing ELD standards for
compatibility with the newly adopted ELA academic
content standards. This bill establishes a process
and structures an advisory committee similar to the
one established for purposes of adopting the common
core standards to revise, adopt and align the existing
ELD standards to the common core standards.
2) English Language learners . English learners
constitute approximately 24 percent of the total
enrollment in California public schools. A majority
of ELs (68 percent) are enrolled in the elementary
grades, kindergarten through grade six, with 31
percent enrolled in the secondary grades, seven
through twelve. During 2009-2010 the CDE administered
the English language proficiency test (CELDT), for
purposes of initial or annual language proficiency
assessment, to 1.6 million students.
3) Current ELD standards . Assembly Bill 748, enacted in
1997, required that the test or tests assessing the
progress of English learners toward achieving fluency
in English be aligned with state standards for
English-language development. The current ELD
standards, approved by the State Board of Education in
1999, were developed by a committee composed of 15
practitioners and experts in English-language
development and assessment and are designed to assist
teachers in moving English learners to fluency in
English and proficiency in the English-language arts
content standards. The current ELD standards were also
the basis for the development of the California
English Language Development Test (CELDT).
In 2006, test developers conducted a study for the CDE
evaluating linkage and alignment of the English
Language Development Standards and assessments. Among
other things, it found that ELD standards were
generally of lower complexity than content standards,
development of CELDT test items that reflect more
academic language functions and higher levels of
complexity would improve overall alignment of the
system, and increased emphasis on academic language
functions was necessary to bring ELD standards and
CELDT into better compliance with federal
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requirements.
4) Related department activity . In January 2010, the
U.S. Department of Education (USDE) announced that it
planned to add the development of English-proficiency
tests based on the common-core standards as a priority
to an existing competitive grant program, the Enhanced
Assessment Instruments Grant program. The plan calls
for a minimum of 15 states to join together in each
consortium that applies to create an
English-proficiency test and requires that members of
the consortium agree to a common definition of English
language learners and common criteria for students to
be reclassified. The USDE anticipates the program
will be implemented by August 2011.
In June 2011, the CDE submitted to the USDE its
application to lead 18 other states in the development
of a new set of English language acquisition
assessments to better serve English learner students.
Staff recommends the bill be amended to declare the
Legislature's intent that the work of the advisory
committee created by this bill shall inform the
development of any new English language acquisition
assessments developed by the CDE.
SUPPORT
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
Association of California School Administrators
California Association for Bilingual Education
California Association of Latino Superintendents and
Administrators
California Federation of Teachers
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Teachers Association
California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other
Languages
Californians Together
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Riverside County School Superintendents' Association
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson
OPPOSITION
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None received.