BILL NUMBER: AB 2350 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member O'Donnell
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
An act to amend Section 313 of add Article
5.5 (commencing with Section 60080) to Chapter 1 of Part 33 of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to
English learners.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2350, as amended, O'Donnell. English learners: English
language proficiency assessment. learners.
Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt
curriculum frameworks and evaluation criteria that are aligned to
specified content standards for English language arts on or before
July 30, 2014.
This bill would define the terms "designated English language
development" and "integrated English language development" for
purposes of the English Language Arts/English Development Framework
adopted by the state board, as specified. The bill would state that a
middle or high school pupil who is enrolled in an English language
development course or is classified as an English learner shall not
be prevented from enrolling in specified other courses required for
graduation or in courses that meet specified college admission
standards, and would require credit toward graduation to be conferred
for courses designed for long-term English learners. By imposing
additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the
State Department of Education to contract for the development of a
video series demonstrating best practices for implementing designated
and integrated English language development, and to make the video
series available for use by local educational agencies.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Existing law requires each school district that has one or more
pupils who are English learners and, to the extent required by
federal law, each county office of education and each charter school,
to assess the English language development of each of those pupils
in order to determine their level of proficiency. Existing law
requires the State Department of Education, with the approval of the
State Board of Education, to establish procedures for conducting the
assessment and for the reclassification of a pupil from English
learner to English proficient. Existing law requires that the
assessment primarily use the English language development test
identified or developed, or developed or acquired, by the
Superintendent pursuant to a specified statute.
This bill would delete English language development tests that are
identified or acquired, but not developed, from tests that may be
used by the assessment referenced above. The bill would also make
nonsubstantive changes to this provision.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) California is home to the largest population of English
learners in the country, and one in three English learners in the
United States resides in California.
(b) There are approximately 1.4 million English learners in
California public schools. About 2.7 million pupils speak a language
other than English in their homes, representing about 43 percent of
the state's public school enrollment.
(c) California's English learner pupils score substantially lower
on state assessments than non-English learner pupils. While there has
been incremental growth in achievement among pupils in the general
population, scores for English learners have largely remained static,
widening the achievement gap between English learners and their
peers over time.
(d) On the 2015 administration of the California Assessment of
Student Performance, 11 percent of English learners in all grades met
or exceeded standard in English language arts/literacy and 11
percent in math, compared with 69 percent and 55 percent for those
subjects, respectively, for pupils proficient in English.
(e) The English Language Arts/English Language Development
Framework adopted by the State Board of Education in 2014 represents
an important state endorsement of the use of both designated English
language development and the integration of English language
development across the curriculum. This combined approach will
require major changes in teaching and learning for all pupils,
including English learners, and there is a need for training for, and
technical assistance to, teachers and administrators on implementing
these instructional reforms.
(f) Recent research has found that English learners are less
likely than non-English learners to be enrolled in core academic
subject courses and, as a result, earn fewer credits than non-English
learner pupils. Research has further found that limited access to
English language arts is largely due to English language development
classes being used as substitutes for, rather than complements to,
English language arts, and due to the enrollment of elementary and
secondary English learners in intervention classes for English
language arts and math that are not designed for the learners'
language and academic needs.
(g) English language development classes aligned to the state
English Language Development standards are designed to give access to
core academic subjects while developing English proficiency, and are
part of the academic core for English learners.
(h) There are many options for addressing the issues of access and
course offerings for English Learners in middle and high school.
(i) Graduation rates for English learners are lower than for the
general population and for other subgroups of students. According to
the State Department of Education, the overall 2013-14 four-year
cohort graduation was 81 percent, while the rate for English learners
was 65 percent, the lowest of any subgroup besides students in
special education. The dropout rate for English learners, at 21
percent, was the highest of any subgroup.
SEC. 2. Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 60080) is
added to Chapter 1 of Part 33 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Education Code, to read:
Article 5.5. English Learners
60080. Except for pupils participating in articulated newcomer
programs, a middle or high school pupil who is enrolled in an English
language development course or who is classified as an English
learner shall not be prevented from doing either of the following:
(a) Enrolling in core curriculum courses in English language arts
or any other course required for graduation or to meet the a-g
subject requirements for admission to the University of California or
the California State University.
(b) Taking a full course load in core subjects required for
graduation or to meet the a-g subject requirements for admission to
the University of California or the California State University.
60081. If a local educational agency offers a course designed for
long-term English learners, the course shall confer credits in
English language arts necessary to meet graduation requirements. It
is the intent of the Legislature that local educational agencies
submit those courses to the University of California and California
State University for approval to meet the a-g subject requirements
for admission.
60082. (a) The English Language Arts/English Language Development
Framework adopted by the state board in 2014 states that English
learners at all English proficiency levels and at all ages require
both integrated English language development and specialized
attention to their particular language learning needs, otherwise
known as designated English language development, as part of their
daily curriculum.
(b) The following definitions shall apply to the English Language
Arts/English Language Development Framework referenced in subdivision
(a):
(1) "Designated English language development" means instruction
designed for English learners according to their level of English
proficiency to overcome language barriers in a reasonable amount of
time, during a protected time in the regular schoolday, in which
teachers use the California English Language Development Standards as
the focal standards in ways that build into and from content
instruction in order to develop the critical language that English
learners need for content learning in English.
(2) "Integrated English language development" means instruction in
which all teachers with English learners in their classrooms,
regardless of the course content, use the California English Language
Development Standards in tandem with the California state standards.
60083. (a) The department shall contract for the development of a
series of videos demonstrating best practices for implementing
designated and integrated English language development in
transitional kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive, and shall make the
series available on the department's Internet Web site.
(b) In developing the video series, the department shall compile
program models that address the structuring of the school day to
allow for instruction in the full curriculum and in English language
development. The department shall include information on how to
implement these models in the series.
(c) In developing the video series, the department shall convene a
group of experts and request public comment.
(d) The video series shall be designed to assist local educational
agencies in providing instruction in designated English language
development and integrated English language development across
different content areas.
(e) By the beginning of the 2017-18 academic year, the video
series shall be completed and made available for voluntary use by
local educational agencies.
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SECTION 1. Section 313 of the Education Code is
amended to read:
313. (a) Each school district that has one or more pupils who are
English learners and, to the extent required by federal law, each
county office of education and each charter school shall assess the
English language development of each pupil in order to determine the
level of proficiency for purposes of this chapter.
(b) The department, with the approval of the state board, shall
establish procedures for conducting the assessment required pursuant
to subdivision (a) and for the reclassification of a pupil from
English learner to English proficient.
(c) Commencing with the 2000-01 school year until subdivision (d)
is implemented, the assessment shall be conducted upon initial
enrollment, and annually, thereafter, during a period of time
determined by the Superintendent and the state board. The annual
assessments shall continue until the pupil is redesignated as English
proficient. The assessment shall primarily use the English language
development test developed by the Superintendent pursuant to Chapter
7 (commencing with Section 60810) of Part 33 of Division 4 of Title
2.
(d) (1) This subdivision shall not be implemented unless and until
the department receives written documentation from the United States
Department of Education that federal law permits the implementation
of the changes set forth in this subdivision or until the 2013-14
school year, whichever occurs later.
(2) The assessment shall be conducted annually during a period
that commences on the day upon which 55 percent of the instructional
year is completed through July 1 of that calendar year. Annual
assessments shall continue until the pupil is redesignated as English
proficient. The annual assessment shall primarily use the English
language development test developed by the Superintendent pursuant to
Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 60810) of Part 33 of Division 4
of Title 2.
(3) The assessment shall be conducted upon the initial enrollment
of a pupil in order to provide information to be used to determine if
the pupil is an English learner.
(A) If the initial enrollment of a pupil occurs on a date outside
of the testing period identified pursuant to paragraph (2), the prior
year's annual assessment for the grade in which the pupil is
enrolling shall be used for this purpose.
(B) If the initial enrollment of a pupil occurs on a date within
the testing period identified pursuant to paragraph (2), the initial
assessment of the pupil shall be conducted as part of the annual
assessment conducted pursuant to paragraph (2).
(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), a school district shall assess
the English language development of a pupil pursuant to this section
no more than one time per school year.
(e) The assessment conducted pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be
conducted in a manner consistent with federal statutes and
regulations.
(f) The reclassification procedures developed by the department
shall use multiple criteria in determining whether to reclassify a
pupil as proficient in English, including, but not limited to, all of
the following:
(1) Assessment of language proficiency using an objective
assessment instrument, including, but not necessarily limited to, the
English language development test that is developed pursuant to
Section 60810.
(2) Teacher evaluation, including, but not necessarily limited to,
a review of the pupil's curriculum mastery.
(3) Parental opinion and consultation.
(4) Comparison of the performance of the pupil 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.
(g) This section does not preclude a school district or county
office of education from testing English learners more than once in a
school year if the school district or county office of education
chooses to do so.