BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  SB 1108|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                         |
          |327-4478                          |                         |
           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
           
                                         
                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 1108
          Author:   Padilla (D)
          Amended:  5/25/12
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE  :  9-0, 4/11/12
          AYES:  Lowenthal, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock, Huff, Liu, 
            Price, Simitian, Vargas
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Runner, Vacancy

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 5/24/12
          AYES:  Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price, 
            Steinberg


           SUBJECT  :    English learners:  reclassification

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill requires the California Department of 
          Education (CDE), by January 1, 2014, to review and analyze 
          the criteria, policies, and practices that school districts 
          use to reclassify English learners and recommend to the 
          Legislature and state board any guideline, regulatory, or 
          statutory changes that CDE determines are necessary to 
          identify when English learners are prepared for the 
          successful transition to classrooms and curricula that 
          require English proficiency.  This bill requires CDE, by 
          January 1, 2017, to issue an updated report that reflects 
          any changes in analysis and recommendations as a result of 
          the adoption by the state board of the common core 
                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               SB 1108
                                                                Page 
          2

          standards and related English language development 
          standards.



           ANALYSIS  :    Both federal and State law require that each 
          school district with English language learners annually 
          assess these students' English language development until 
          they are redesignated as English proficient.  The 
          assessment, the California English Language Development 
          Test (CELDT), must be administered to all students whose 
          primary language is not English within 30 calendar days 
          after they are enrolled in a California public school for 
          the first time, and annually thereafter during a period of 
          time determined by the Superintendent of Public Instruction 
          and the State Board of Education (SBE) until they are 
          reclassified as fluent English proficient.  

          Existing law requires the CDE, with the approval of the 
          SBE, to establish procedures for conducting the CELDT and 
          for the reclassification of a pupil from English learner to 
          English proficient.  Current law requires the 
          reclassification procedures developed by the CDE to use 
          multiple criteria, including, but not limited to, all of 
          the following:

          1.An assessment of language proficiency.

          2.Teacher evaluation, including, but not limited to, a 
            review of the pupil's curriculum mastery.

          3.Parental opinion and consultation.

          4.Comparison of the student's performance in basic skills 
            against an empirically established range of performance 
            in basic skills based upon the performance of English 
            proficient pupils of the same age, that demonstrates 
            whether the pupil is sufficiently proficient in English 
            to participate effectively in a curriculum designed for 
            pupils of the same age whose native language is English. 

          This bill requires CDE, by January 1, 2014, to review and 
          analyze the criteria, policies, and practices that school 
          districts use to reclassify English learners and recommend 

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                              SB 1108
                                                                Page 
          3

          to the Legislature and state board any guideline, 
          regulatory, or statutory changes that CDE determines are 
          necessary to identify when English learners are prepared 
          for the successful transition to classrooms and curricula 
          that require English proficiency.  This bill requires CDE, 
          by January 1, 2017, to issue an updated report that 
          reflects any changes in analysis and recommendations as a 
          result of the adoption by the state board of the common 
          core standards and related English language development 
          standards.

           Background

          English learners  .  The CDE provides the following 
          information on English learners in California's public 
          schools:

                 In the 2010-11 school year, there were 
               approximately 1.4 million English learners in 
               California public schools, constituting 23.2 percent 
               of the total enrollment.

                 Seventy one percent of English learners are 
               enrolled in the elementary grades (K-6) with the 
               remaining 29 percent enrolled in grades 7-12.  

                 Although English learner data are collected for 59 
               language groups, 94 percent speak one of the top ten 
               languages in the state, which include Spanish (82.7 
               percent), Vietnamese, Cantonese, Pilipino (Filipino or 
               Tagalog), Hmong, Mandarin, Korean, Arabic, Punjabi, 
               and Russian.

                 During 20010-2011 the CDE administered CELDT to 
               1.57 million students, 1.25 million of whom were 
               tested under the annual assessment window. 

                 Since 2008-09, approximately 11% of English 
               learners have annually been reclassified as English 
               proficient. 

           Current guidelines  .  As required under current law, the 
          State Board of Education has issued guidelines for 
          districts' use in determining reclassification. Below is a 

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               SB 1108
                                                                Page 
          4

          summary of these guidelines as outlined in the  2011-12 
          CELDT Information Guide  prepared by CDE:

                  CELDT  .  It is recommended that the CELDT be used as 
               the primary criterion and that reclassification be 
               considered for students whose overall performance is 
               Early Advanced or higher and for whom performance in 
               listening, speaking, reading and writing is 
               intermediate or higher. According to this guideline, 
               generally, a score of level 4 or 5 in each of the four 
               domains of the CELDT signals a student's English 
               skills are sufficient to be considered for 
               reclassification.

                  Teacher Evaluation.   It is recommended that the 
               students' academic performance be used. The guideline 
               notes that incurred deficits in motivation and 
               academic success unrelated to English language 
               proficiency do not preclude a student from 
               reclassification.

                  Parental Opinion/Consultation.   Districts are 
               advised to provide notice to parents or guardians of 
               their rights and encourage them to participate in the 
               reclassification process. Districts are also advised 
               to provide an opportunity for a face-to-face meeting 
               with parents or guardians.

                  Comparison of Performance in Basic Skills .  It is 
               recommended that a student's score on the test of 
               basic skills in the range from the beginning of the 
               Basic level up to the midpoint of the Basic level 
               suggests that the student may be sufficiently prepare 
               to participate effectively in the curriculum and 
               should be considered for reclassification (basic is 
               the middle performance level out of five levels).

           Related studies  .  In 2005, the State Auditor issued a 
          report,  Department of Education:  School Districts' 
          Inconsistent Identification and Redesignation of English 
          Learners Cause Funding Variances and Make Comparisons of 
          Performance Outcomes Difficult  . Among its findings were the 
          following:
           

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               SB 1108
                                                                Page 
          5

                 Differences in school districts' identification and 
               redesignation criteria cause funding variances and a 
               lack of comparability in performance results.

                 Sixty-two percent of 180 English learners reviewed, 
               who were candidates for redesignation but had not been 
               redesignated, met school districts' criteria for 
               fluent status but were still counted as English 
               learners.

                 School district and CDE monitoring of schools' 
               adherence to the redesignation process is inadequate.

          Among other things, the State Auditor recommended that the 
          CDE, in consultation with stakeholders, establish required 
          initial designation and redesignation criteria related to 
          statewide tests that would provide greater consistency in 
          the English learner population across the State. In 
          addition, it was recommended that CDE pursue legislative 
          action, as necessary, to achieve this goal and require 
          school districts to document redesignation decisions, 
          including decisions against redesignating students who are 
          candidates for fluent status.

          In 2006, the LAO published its report,  The Progress of 
          English Learner Students  which, among other things, noted 
          that:

                 There are no available data to determine the effect 
               of the state board's guidelines on reclassification 
               standards statewide.

                 The State Auditor's audit of 2005 indicates that 
               districts have adopted reclassification criteria that 
               meet or exceed the state's suggested criteria.

                 Title III accountability measures of annual 
               progress of English learners are difficult to compare 
               and assess as this measure will vary depending upon 
               reclassification criteria/practices. 

          The LAO suggested that one option to address these concerns 
          could be to develop a statewide reclassification standard, 
          but noted that lacking a research basis; any statewide 

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               SB 1108
                                                                Page 
          6

          standard would be somewhat arbitrary. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/25/12)

          Alliance for a Better Community 
          Association of California School Administrators 
          California Association for Bilingual Education
          California Communities United Institute
          California State Parent Teacher Association
          Californians Together
          Central Valley Education Coalition
          Coachella Valley Unified School District
          Education Trust West
          Fresno Unified School District
          League of United Latin American Citizens
          Los Angeles Unified School District
          Nury Martinez, Board Member, Los Angeles Unified School 
          District Board
          Youth Policy Institute


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author, the 
          current statutory reclassification criteria are vague and 
          open ended, and have resulted in a reclassification process 
          that is inconsistent from school to school and district to 
          district.  According to the author, creating consistency in 
          the State's system of reclassification is a key step in 
          improving educational outcomes.  This bill proposes that 
          the CDE recommend best practices with regards to 
          reclassification to the State Board based upon information 
          provided by school districts, county offices, and charter 
          schools.


          PQ:nl  5/25/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                ****  END  ****



                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               SB 1108
                                                                Page 
          7














































                                                           CONTINUED