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