Amended in Senate August 19, 2016

Amended in Senate August 1, 2016

Amended in Senate June 28, 2016

Amended in Assembly May 27, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 19, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2350

Introduced by Assembly Member O'Donnell

February 18, 2016

An act to begin delete amend Section 44253.2 of, and to add Sections 60811.6 and end delete begin insert add Section end insert 60811.8 begin delete to, end delete begin insert to end insert the Education Code, relating to English learners.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2350, as amended, O'Donnell. English begin delete learners. end delete begin insert learners: participation in standard instructional program. end insert

Existing law requires begin delete 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. end delete begin insert 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 pupil in order to determine the pupil’s level of proficiency, as specified, and requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to review existing assessments that assess the English language development of pupils whose primary language is a language other than English. end insert

This bill would begin delete 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 end delete specify that, except as provided, a middle or high school pupil who is begin delete enrolled in an English language development course or is end delete classified as an English learner begin insert and scores at any proficiency level on the assessment of English language development end insert shall not be begin delete prevented from enrolling end delete begin insert denied participation in a school’s standard instructional program, as defined, by being denied enrollment end insert in specified begin delete other courses end delete begin insert courses, including, among others, courses end insert required for begin delete graduation, middle school grade promotion, or meeting specified end delete begin insert graduation and end insert college begin delete admission standards, as applicable. end delete begin insert admission. end insert By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

begin delete

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.

end delete begin delete

This bill would revise the definition of “specially designed content instruction delivered in English” for purposes of specified teacher credentialing provisions.

end delete

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.

begin delete

(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.

end delete begin delete

(f)

end delete

begin insert (c) end insert  Recent research begin insert examining course-taking patterns of English
learners in multiple California school districts end insert has found that
English learners are less likely than non-English learners to be
enrolled in core academic subject begin delete courses end delete begin insert courses, including
English language arts, mathematics, and science, end insert and, as a result,
earn fewer credits than non-English learner pupils. Research has
further found that limited access to begin insert courses in end insert 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.

begin delete

(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.

end delete begin insert

(d) (1) The federal Equal Educational Opportunities Act of
1974 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1701 et seq.), as interpreted by the court in
Castañeda v. Pickard (1981) 648 F.2d 989, prohibits the denial
of English learners’ equal participation in the standard
instructional programs of schools, and requires programs that are
used in the early part of an English learner’s school career that
first focus on the development of English language skills to be
designed to remedy any academic deficits in other areas that may
develop during participation in the program and to be reasonably
calculated to enable pupils to attain parity of participation in the
standard instructional program within a reasonable length of time
after they enter the school system.

end insert begin insert

(2) It is the intent of the Legislature to clarify these requirements
for California public schools.

end insert

begin delete

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 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.  

Section 60811.6 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

60811.6.  

(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.

SEC. 4.  

Section 60811.8 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

60811.8.  

(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, middle school
grade promotion, or meeting the subject matter requirements for
purposes of recognition for college admission pursuant to Section
66205.5, as applicable.

(2) Taking a full course load in core subjects required for
graduation, middle school grade promotion, or meeting the subject
matter requirements for purposes of recognition for college
admission pursuant to Section 66205.5, as applicable.

(b) (1) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to a pupil participating
in 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.

(2) The department may provide guidance on the implementation
of this subdivision.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 60811.8 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , to
read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 60811.8. end insert   

(a) Consistent with federal law, a middle or high
school pupil who is classified as an English learner and scores at
any proficiency level on the assessment of English language
development established pursuant to Section 60810 or any
successor assessment shall not be denied participation in the
standard instructional program of a school by being denied any
of the following:

(1) Enrollment in courses that are part of the standard
instructional program of the school that the pupil attends. For
purposes of this section, “standard instructional program” means,
at a minimum, core curriculum courses, as defined in clause (i)
of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section
33126, courses required to meet state and local graduation
requirements, and courses required for middle school grade
promotion.

(2) Enrollment in a full course load of courses that are part of
the standard instructional program.

(3) Enrollment in courses that are not part of a school’s
standard instructional program that either meet the subject matter
requirements for purposes of recognition for college admission
pursuant to Section 66205.5 or are advanced courses, such as
advanced placement courses, on the sole basis of a pupil’s
classification as an English learner.

(b) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to a middle or high school
pupil who is classified as an English learner and who is
participating in a program designed to meet the academic and
transitional needs of newly arrived immigrant pupils that has as
a primary objective the development of English language
proficiency, provided that, pursuant to federal law, the program
is designed to remedy any academic deficits incurred during
participation and that the program’s design is reasonably
calculated to enable these pupils to attain parity of participation
in the standard instructional program within a reasonable length
of time after they enter the school system.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 5. end delete

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

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.