BILL NUMBER: SB 753	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 26, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Padilla

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

   An act to amend Section 313 of the Education Code, relating to
pupils.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 753, as amended, Padilla. Pupils: English learners: assessment.

   Existing law requires each school district that has one or more
pupils who are English learners to assess the English language
development of each of those pupils  upon initial enrollment
 in order to determine the level of proficiency of those
pupils  and thereafter to assess each of those pupils
annually until the pupil is redesignated as English proficient
 . The assessment primarily consists of the administration
of the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) that
assesses pupils in grades 2 to 12, inclusive, in English listening,
speaking, reading, and writing skills, and pupils in kindergarten and
grade 1 in English listening and speaking.  Existing law
requires that the assessment be conducted upon   initial
enrollment, and annually thereafter during a period of time
determined by the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State
Board of Education, until the pupil is redesignated as English
proficient. 
   This bill would require the annual assessment to be conducted
during a 3-month test period commencing with the day upon which 65%
of the instructional year is completed  , and would provide that
these provisions, as well as the provisions requiring an initial and
annual assessment, would not be implemented until the current test
publisher's contract expires  .  The bill would require
the State Department of Education to provide the score a pupil
achieves on the CELDT to the parent or guardian of the pupil in
English and, if available, in the language reported on the home
language survey. The bill would require that the score be provided in
a format that utilizes terminology that is easy to understand and
includes an explanation of the purpose of the test, the pupil's
score, and the intended use of that score by the school district.

   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  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 shall assess the English language development of
each pupil in order to determine the level of proficiency for the
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 language proficient.
   (c)  (1)    The assessment shall be conducted
upon initial enrollment and annually thereafter during a three-month
test period commencing with the day upon which 65 percent of the
instructional year is completed. Annual assessments shall continue
until the pupil is redesignated as English proficient. The assessment
primarily shall utilize the English language development test
identified or developed by the Superintendent pursuant to Chapter 7
(commencing with Section 60810) of Part 33 of Division 4 of Title 2.
 The department shall provide the score a pupil achieves on
the English language development test to the parent or guardian of
the pupil in English and, if available, in the language reported on
the home language survey. The score shall be provided in a format
that utilizes terminology that is easy to understand and includes an
explanation of the purpose of the test, the pupil's score, and the
intended use of that score by the school district. 
    (2) This subdivision shall not be implemented until the
current test publisher's contract expires. 
   (d) The reclassification procedures developed by the department
shall utilize 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 limited to, the English
language development test that is developed or acquired pursuant to
Section 60810.
   (2) Teacher evaluation, including, but not 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.

   (e) 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.