BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 409
                                                                  Page  1


          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 409 (Alejo)
          As Amended  May 19, 2011
          Majority vote 

           EDUCATION           7-3         APPROPRIATIONS      12-5        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano,        |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield,     |
          |     |Buchanan, Butler, Carter, |     |Bradford, Charles         |
          |     |Eng, Williams             |     |Calderon, Campos, Davis,  |
          |     |                          |     |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara,  |
          |     |                          |     |Mitchell, Solorio         |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Norby, Halderman, Wagner  |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly,         |
          |     |                          |     |Nielsen, Smyth, Wagner    |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 

           SUMMARY  :  Authorizes the administration of a primary language 
          assessment to nonlimited-English-proficient and redesignated 
          fluent-English-proficient (RFEP) pupils enrolled in dual 
          immersion programs.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Authorizes the California Department of Education (CDE) to 
            make a primary language assessment available to school 
            districts and charter schools to assess their 
            nonlimited-English-proficient and RFEP pupils, who are 
            enrolled in a dual language immersion program that includes 
            the primary language of the assessment. 

          2)Requires a school district or charter school that chooses to 
            administer a primary language assessment as authorized by this 
            bill to do so at its own expense and to enter into an 
            agreement for that purpose with the state testing contractor 
            subject to the approval of the CDE.  

          3)Specifies that the cost for the assessment shall be the same 
            for all school districts and charter schools and shall not 
            exceed the marginal cost of the assessment.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations 
          Committee, minor General Fund/Proposition 98 (GF/98) cost 
          pressure, likely less than $75,000, to authorize school 








                                                                  AB 409
                                                                  Page  2


          districts to assess their non-English learner (EL) pupils who 
          are enrolled in dual immersion programs, as specified.  This 
          bill requires school districts to pay for the administration of 
          this assessment at their own expense.  According to CDE, it 
          allocated approximately $101,000 GF/98 to school districts for 
          the administration of the primary language assessment to EL 
          pupils in 2010.  

           COMMENTS  :  SB 1448 (Alpert), Chapter 233, Statutes of 2004, 
          required the development of standards-aligned primary language 
          assessments for English learner pupils.  The CDE began the 
          development of the Standards-based Tests in Spanish (STS) in 
          reading/language arts and mathematics in 2006 and started 
          administering the test in 2007 in grades 2-4, inclusive.  In 
          2008, the STS was administered in grades 2-7, inclusive and 
          beginning in 2009, the STS was administered in grades 2-11, 
          inclusive.  Additionally, algebra 1 and geometry end-of-course 
          exams are also available in Spanish.  According to CDE's 
          Standardized Testing and Reporting Program: Annual Report to the 
          Legislature, Spanish is the only language for which a primary 
          language test has been designated because no tests for languages 
          other than Spanish have been submitted by bidders to the State 
          Board of Education (SBE) for consideration in response to 
          requests for submission.  The STS is currently administered to 
          ELs who either receive instruction in their primary language or 
          have been enrolled in a school in the United States (U.S.) for 
          less than 12 months.  These tests are administered in addition 
          to the English California Standards Test (CST) in 
          reading/language arts and mathematics, and the STS results are 
          not used for state or federal accountability purposes.  At the 
          option of a school district, the STS can be administered to an 
          EL pupil who has been enrolled in the U.S. for 12 months or more 
          and who is not receiving instruction in his or her primary 
          language.  

          Dual language education programs integrate native English 
          speakers and native speakers of the target language to provide 
          instruction presented through two languages.  Currently, school 
          districts that operate Spanish/English dual immersion programs 
          are not authorized to administer the STS to native English 
          speakers nor to RFEP pupils enrolled in these programs.  The STS 
          can be an additional tool for teachers and administrators to 
          gather achievement data of native English speakers and RFEP 
          pupils enrolled in dual immersion programs, as well as to 








                                                                  AB 409
                                                                  Page  3


          evaluate the effectiveness of such programs.  

          The author states, "Current law requires that Dual Immersion 
          schools use standardized testing to assess their students' 
          academic performance.  Yet, the schools are prohibited by law 
          from using the Standards-based Test in Spanish (STS) on the 
          non-English Learner subset of the student population.  Dual 
          Immersion schools are therefore unable accurately measure the 
          proficiency of their English Only or Fluent English Proficient 
          students.  This puts these schools at a disadvantage because 
          they cannot compare the data between English Learners and 
          non-English Learners.  As a result, they lack the information 
          needed to accurately measure student progress in grade level 
          content standards and make academic improvements in instruction. 
          "

          Related legislation:  AB 250 (Brownley) amongst its various 
          curriculum and assessment provisions authorizes the 
          administration of a primary language assessment to 
          nonlimited-English proficient pupils and RFEP pupils enrolled in 
          dual immersion programs.  AB 250 is pending in the Assembly 
          Appropriations Committee. 

          Previous legislation:  AB 252 (Coto) of 2007, a substantially 
          similar measure, authorizes the CDE, subject to approval by the 
          SBE and the Department of Finance, to make a primary language 
          assessment available to public schools for use in assessing 
          nonlimited-English-proficient pupils enrolled in a dual language 
          immersion program that includes the primary language of the 
          assessment.  AB 252 was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger with 
          the following veto message: 

          "English-speaking pupils who have voluntarily enrolled in dual 
          language immersion programs are currently required to take the 
          California Standards Test in English.  Therefore, another 
          assessment is not needed to measure their mastery of 
          state-adopted academic content standards in another language.  
          Furthermore, I am concerned that this bill creates significant 
          General Fund cost pressures for the state to develop 
          standards-aligned primary language tests in other languages.  
          Given the state's current fiscal climate it is not prudent for 
          me to enact this measure."










                                                                  AB 409
                                                                  Page  4


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Marisol Avina / ED. / (916) 319-2087 

                                                               FN:  0000781