BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2350 (O'Donnell) - English learners
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|Version: August 1, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill prohibits a middle or high school English
learner (EL) student from being prevented from enrolling in
courses required for graduation, grade promotion, or meeting the
minimum course requirements for admission to the University of
California (UC) or California State University (CSU).
Fiscal
Impact:
This bill is not anticipated to result in significant costs to
the state as the prohibition of preventing ELs from enrolling
in courses required for graduation, grade promotion, or
minimum course requirements for UC and CSU admission, is
AB 2350 (O'Donnell) Page 1 of
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predicated on federal law which prohibits a state from denying
equal educational opportunity, as specified. This bill
provides greater specificity on this federal requirement that
appears to align with federal guidance. See staff comments.
Background: Existing law requires the State Board of Education to approve
standards for English language development (ELD) for students
whose primary language is other than English. They describe the
key knowledge, skills, and abilities that students who are
learning English as a new language need in order to access,
engage with, and achieve in gradelevel academic content. These
standards are required to be comparable in rigor and specificity
to the adopted standards for English language arts, mathematics,
and science. (EC § 60811)
According to the California Department of Education (CDE), the
ELD Standards correspond with the California Common Core State
Standards for English language arts (ELA)/Literacy and are
designed to apply to English language and literacy skills across
all academic content areas, in addition to classes specifically
designed for ELD. They are also designed to be used in tandem
with all academic content standards-including the state
standards in math and science.
The UC and the CSU require a sequence of high school courses
that students must complete to be minimally eligible for
admission to the UC and CSU. Schools obtain approval of their
courses for admission purposes by submitting them to the UC.
A recent report by the Policy Analysis for California Education,
Improving the Opportunities and Outcomes of California's
Students Learning English, found among other things, that ELs
are less likely than non-ELs to be enrolled in core academic
subject courses and, as a result, earn fewer credits toward
graduation than non-EL students. The research further found that
limited access to ELA is largely due to 1) ELD courses being
used as a substitute, rather than a complement, for ELA courses,
and 2) the enrollment of elementary and secondary ELs in
intervention classes for language arts and math which were not
designed for ELs' language and academic needs. It states that
teachers and administrators report that sheltered classes
(courses designed to make content more accessible to ELs) can be
AB 2350 (O'Donnell) Page 2 of
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less rigorous, slower paced, and use more alternative curricula.
This bill is an effort to respond to these concerns.
Proposed Law:
This bill prohibits a middle or high school student who is
enrolled in an ELD course or who is classified as an EL from
being prevented from enrolling in core curriculum courses in ELA
or any other course, from taking a full course load in core
subjects required for graduation, grade promotion or meeting the
minimum course requirements for admission to the UC or CSU.
This bill also:
Provides legislative intent that LEAs submit ELD courses to
the UC for approval to meet the course requirements for
recognition for college admission.
Authorizes the CDE to provide guidance on making newly arrived
immigrants participating in programs designed to meet the
student's academic and transitional needs exempt from the
prohibition that EL students be excluded from enrolling in
core curriculum courses in ELA and taking a full course load
in core subjects.
Defines "designated English language development" to mean
instruction designed for ELs according to their level of
English proficiency to overcome language barriers during a
protected time in the regular school day in which teachers use
ELD standards that build into content instruction in order to
develop the critical language that ELs need for content
learning in English.
Defines "integrated English language development" to mean
instruction in which all teachers with ELs in their
classrooms, regardless of the course content, use ELD in
tandem with the California state standards. These definitions
are provided as it pertains to the ELA/ELD Framework.
AB 2350 (O'Donnell) Page 3 of
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Related
Legislation: AB 2785 (O'Donnell, 2016) requires the CDE to
develop a manual providing guidance to LEAs on identifying,
assessing, and supporting English learners who may qualify for
special education services. AB 2785 is pending in this
committee.
Staff
Comments: Federal law prohibits a state from denying equal
educational opportunity to an individual on account of his or
her race, color, sex, or national origin by the failure by an
educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome
language barriers that impede equal participation by its
students in its instructional programs. (20 U.S.C. 1703(f))
The Supreme Court of the United States determined that for
public schools to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, they are required to take affirmative steps to ensure
that ELs can meaningfully participate in their educational
programs.
Federal guidance provides that from enrollment to graduation, EL
students are entitled to instruction in the school district's
core curriculum (e.g., reading/language arts, math, science, and
social studies). Finally, it provides that school districts
should place EL students in age-appropriate grade levels so that
they can have meaningful access to their grade-appropriate
curricula and an equal opportunity to graduate. This bill
provides greater specificity to these principles.
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