BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 750
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Date of Hearing: June 17, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
SB
750 (Mendoza) - As Amended May 12, 2015
SENATE VOTE: 36-0
SUBJECT: English language education: English learners: State
Seal of Biliteracy.
SUMMARY: Modifies the definitions of a "long-term English
learner" (LTEL) and "an English learner at risk of becoming a
long-term English learner" (ARLTEL), expands the notification
requirements of the California Department of Education (CDE)
regarding these students, and authorizes the use of alternate
assessments for the purpose of the State Seal of Biliteracy
(SSB). Specifically, this bill:
1)Changes the definition of a "long term English learner" by:
a) including students who have been enrolled in school for
six years or more (rather than more than six years)
b) including students who have regressed to a lower English
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language proficiency level (in addition to scoring at the
same level for two or more consecutive years)
c) limiting the grades in which a student must score at
below basic or far below basic on the English language arts
assessment to grades 6-9 (instead of 6-12)
d) stating that, if the assessment data above is not
available for a student, that student shall not have that
criteria applied and shall not be excluded based on those
criteria.
1)Changes the definition of "an English learner at risk of
becoming a long-term English learner" by:
a) expanding the grade level of students who could be so
classified from grades 5-11 to grades 3-12
b) expanding the number of years of U.S. school enrollment
from 4 to 5 years
c) expanding the California Department of Education (CDE)
notice requirements to include the posting of the statewide
number of LTELs and ARLTELs
1)Authorizes the use of alternate criteria for the purpose of
the SSB by requiring the Superintendent of Public Instruction
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(SPI) to designate alternative equivalent criteria for
eligibility for the SSB in the event that scores from the
California Standards Test in English language arts or its
successor are not available.
2)Requires the use of the alternative criteria only while the
assessment scores are unavailable.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Defines an LTEL as an English learner who:
a) is enrolled in any of grades 6 to 12
b) has been enrolled in schools in the United States for
more than six years
c) remains at the same English language proficiency level
for two or more consecutive years
d) scores far below basic or below basic on the adopted
English language arts standards-based achievement test
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1)Existing law defines an ARLTEL as an English learner who:
a) is enrolled in any of grades 5-11
b) has been enrolled in schools in the United States for 4
years
c) scores at the intermediate level or below on the state
adopted English language proficiency test
d) scores at the far below basic or below basic on the
adopted English language arts standards-based achievement
test
1)Requires that the CDE annually ascertain and report the number
of students who are, or are at risk of becoming, long-term
English learners and to provide this information to school
districts and schools.
2)Establishes the SSB, which provides recognition to high school
students who have demonstrated proficiency in speaking,
reading, and writing in one or more languages in addition to
English. Each school district, county office of education, or
direct-funded charter school that confers the SSB is required
to maintain appropriate records in order to identify students
who have met the established criteria for the award and to
affix the SSB insignia to the diploma or transcript of each
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qualifying student.
3)Requires high school graduates to meet all of the following
criteria to be eligible for the SSB:
a) complete all English language arts requirements for
graduation with an overall grade point average of 2.0 or
above in those classes.
b) pass the California Standards Test in English language
arts administered in grade 11 at the proficient level or
above.
a) demonstrate proficiency in one or more languages in
addition to English, through one of the following methods:
b) pass a foreign language Advanced Placement (AP)
examination with a score of 3 or higher or an International
Baccalaureate examination with a score or 4 or higher.
c) successfully complete a four-year high school course of
study in a world language, and attain an overall grade
point average of 3.0 or above in that course of study.
d) pass a school district language examination that, at a
minimum, assesses speaking, reading, and writing in a
language other than English at the proficient level or
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higher, if no AP examination or off-the-shelf language test
exists, and the school district can certify to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) that the test
meets the rigor of a four-year high school course of study
in that foreign (world) language. If a school district
offers an examination in a language in which an AP
examination or off-the-shelf language test does exist, the
school district language examination must be approved by
the SPI for the purpose of determining proficiency in a
language other than English.
e) passing the Scholastic Assessment Test II foreign
language examination with a score of 600 or higher.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill. According to the author, this bill is
intended to addresses several technical issues identified by the
CDE upon their implementation of the Long Term English Learner
(LTEL) statute, and to update the criteria for the State Seal of
Biliteracy by adding the new California Assessment of Student
Performance and Progress in English language arts.
Changes to the LTEL and ARLTEL code include provisions which
align the code with the state's assessment program (allowing for
identification of LTELs when assessment data is not produced for
a given grade level, and eliminating the use of the English
language arts assessment in grades 10-12 because only 11th
graders are tested), provide authority for the CDE to consider
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instances when a student's English proficiency scores regress
(rather than just stay the same), and expanding the definition
of ARLTEL to include students in their 5th year of school so
that they may be identified the year before they can become
identified as LTEL.
First state data on LTELs now available. The first data
available identifying the number and percentage of LTELs was
produced by the CDE in draft form in December, 2014 and provided
to school districts and county offices of education. These data
indicate the following:
Of the approximately 471,000 English learners in grades
6-12 (who were not previously reclassified), approximately
339,000 have been in a U.S. school for more than six years.
Of the approximately 339,000 English learners who have
been in U.S. schools for more than six years (and who have
not been reclassified), approximately 90,000 are LTELs.
This represents 26.5% of population which can be identified
under current law (note that this percentage applies to the
group of English learners who were not previously
reclassified).
The data on ARLTELs was not informative due to
limitations in current law (including provisions which
would be revised by this bill).
Data for identification of LTELs limited as districts transition
to new test data. Current law requires identification of LTELs
and ARLTELs to be based in part on two of the criteria used in
the reclassification of English learners: scores on the
assessment of English language development, and scores on the
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assessment of English language arts.
These two assessments are currently in transition. The state's
new Common Core aligned English language arts assessment was
fully administered for the first time this year, and the state
has not produced assessment data in English language arts for
two years. In addition, starting in 2017-18 the state will
begin using a new Common Core aligned measure of English
proficiency - the English Language Proficiency Assessments for
California (ELPAC).
What will any new reclassification policy mean for the
definition of LTEL? State law now recognizes three designations
of students with respect to English proficiency: English
learners, long term English learners, and reclassified English
learners.
For several years the Legislature has heard that changes are
necessary to the state's reclassification system for English
learners. A 2014 analysis by the Public Policy Institute of
California found that more than 90 percent of districts in the
analysis use more demanding criteria than are suggested by the
State Board of Education's reclassification guidelines.
SB 1108 (Padilla), Chapter 434, Statutes of 2012, required the
CDE to undertake a review of the reclassification system, but
funding was never provided for that purpose and the review did
not take place. AB 491 (Gonzalez) of this session requires the
CDE to recommend, and the State Board of Education to adopt,
best practices for the reclassification of English learners by
July 2022, when data from the new assessment of English language
development will be available. If the state's reclassification
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criteria do change, the Committee may wish to consider what
relationship new criteria will have to the definition of a long
term English learner.
State Seal of Biliteracy a growing trend. According to the CDE,
since 2012 nearly 60,000 SSBs have been awarded to graduating
seniors, and approximately 40 percent of those receiving the SSB
are former EL students. California was the first state to adopt
a seal of biliteracy.
Related legislation. AB 491 (Gonzalez) of this session requires
the CDE to recommend, and the State Board of Education to adopt,
best practices for the reclassification of English learners, by
July 2022.
AB 2303 (Bloom, 2014), among other things, would have authorized
the use of alternate assessments for the purpose of the State
Seal of Biliteracy. AB 2303 died in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson
(sponsor)
California Association for Bilingual Education
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California Immigrant Policy Center
California Language Teachers Association
California School Boards Association
California Teachers Association
Californians Together
Families in Schools
Los Angeles Unified School District
Public Advocates
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916)
319-2087
SB 750
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