BILL NUMBER: AB 2350 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 28, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 19, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member O'Donnell
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
An act to amend Section 44253.2 of, and to 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.
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 specify
that that, except as provided, 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, grade promotion, or meeting specified college admission
standards, standards. The bill would require
English language development courses designed for long-term English
learners to be sufficiently rigorous to confer credit in English
language arts necessary for grade promotion or graduation and
would require credit toward graduation to be
conferred for courses designed for long-term English
learners, except as specified. those courses. 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 and charter schools. The bill would also require the
department to revise its existing research-based guidance document on
improving the education of English learners.
Existing law authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to
issue an authorization to teach specially designed content
instruction delivered in English, as defined, to English learner
pupils.
This bill would revise the definition of "specially designed
content instruction delivered in English" for purposes of specified
teacher credentialing provisions.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: 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 standards 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 English learners'
language and academic needs.
(g) Graduation rates for English learners are lower than for the
general population and for other subgroups of pupils. According to
the State Department of Education, the overall 2013-14 four-year
cohort graduation rate was 81 percent, while the rate for English
learners was 65 percent, the lowest of any subgroup besides pupils in
special education. The dropout rate for English learners, at 21
percent, was the highest of any subgroup.
(h) 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.
(i) There are many options for addressing the issues of access and
course offerings for English Learners in middle and high school.
SEC. 2. Section 44253.2 of the Education Code is amended to read:
44253.2. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall
have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Instruction for English language development" means
instruction designed specifically for English learner pupils to
develop their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in
English.
(b) "Specially designed content instruction delivered in English"
or "specially designed academic instruction in English" means
instruction in a subject area, delivered in English, that is
specially designed to meet the needs of English learner pupils, and
the focus of which is on instruction of the state academic content
standards and on increasing the comprehensibility of academic content
in courses normally provided to fluent-English-proficient and
English-only pupils.
(c) "Content instruction delivered in the primary language" means
instruction in a subject area delivered in the primary language of
the pupil.
(d) "Instruction for primary language development" means
instruction designed to develop a pupil's listening, speaking,
reading, and writing skills in the primary language of the pupil.
(e) "Culture and cultural diversity" means an understanding of
human relations, including the following:
(1) The nature and content of culture.
(2) Cross cultural Cross-cultural
contact and interactions.
(3) Cultural diversity in the United States and California.
(4) Approaches to providing instruction responsive to the
diversity of the pupil population.
(5) Recognizing and responding to behavior related to bias based
on the characteristics listed in Section 220.
(6) Techniques for the peaceful resolution of conflict.
SEC. 3. 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. (a) The English Language Arts/English Language Development
Framework adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 60207
states that English learners at all English proficiency levels and at
all ages require a comprehensive program of English language
development that includes 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.
60081. (a) 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:
(1) Enrolling in core curriculum courses in English language arts
or any other course required for graduation, grade promotion, or
meeting the a-g subject requirements for admission to the University
of California or the California State University.
(2) Taking a full course load in core subjects required for
graduation, grade promotion, or meeting the a-g subject requirements
for admission to the University of California or the California State
University.
(b) (1) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to a
pupil participating in an articulated newcomer program
a program designed to meet the academic and
transitional needs of newly arrived immigrants unless the pupil
meets the local educational agency's exit criteria for transition
into a general education program. For purposes of this
section, "articulated newcomer program" means a separate, sometimes
self-contained program that meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The program is designed to meet the academic and transitional
needs of newly arrived immigrants.
(2) Instruction is aligned with state academic content standards
in content areas for which standards are adopted.
(3) Instruction for learning English is aligned with English
language development standards.
(4) When possible, instruction in the core subjects of
mathematics, science, and history-social science are offered in the
pupil's primary language.
(2) The department may provide guidance on the implementation of
this subdivision.
60082. If a local educational agency offers an English language
development course designed for long-term English learners, the
course shall confer credits be sufficiently
rigorous to confer credit and shall confer credit in English
language arts necessary to meet grade promotion or 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.
subject matter requirements for purposes of
recognition for college admission purs uant to Section
66205.5.
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. In order to
provide a companion resource to the video series, the department
shall revise its existing research-based guidance document on
improving the education of English learners. This document may
include guidance on the implementation of Sections 60081 and 60082.
(b) In developing the video series and research document, the
department shall compile program models that address the
implementation of designated and integrated instruction during the
schoolday that allows pupils to access English language development
and academic content. The department shall include information on how
to implement these models.
(c) In developing the video series and research document, the
department shall convene a group of experts and request public input.
(d) By the beginning of the 2019-20 school year, the video series
and research document shall be completed and made available for
voluntary use by local educational agencies and charter schools.
(e) Implementation of this section is contingent upon funding
being provided for this purpose in the annual Budget Act or another
statute.
SEC. 4. 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.