BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1108
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1108 (Padilla)
As Amended July 5, 2012
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :39-0
EDUCATION 9-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Norby, Ammiano, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, |
| |Buchanan, Butler, Eng, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Grove, Halderman, | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| |Williams | |Davis, Donnelly, Fuentes, |
| | | |Hall, Hill, Cedillo, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Solorio, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires by January 1, 2014, the California Department
of Education (CDE) to review and analyze English learner (EL)
reclassification criteria, policies, and practices used by a
sample of school districts representing the geographic,
socioeconomic, and demographic diversity of school districts in
the state. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the CDE to recommend to the Legislature and the State
Board of Education (SBE) any guideline, regulatory or
statutory changes that the CDE determines are necessary to
identify when ELs are prepared for the successful transition
to classrooms and curricula that require English proficiency.
2)Requires the CDE, for purposes of completing the review and
analysis, to:
a) Consult with parents of English learners, experts with
demonstrated experience in developing and administering
assessments for ELs, classroom or resource teachers, or
both, and school district administrators with expertise in
curriculum, instruction, assessment, and accountability,
and researchers possessing expertise in the education of
ELs; and,
b) Examine and report on the following:
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i) The practices and standards used by a sampling of
school districts that represent the geographic,
socioeconomic, and demographic diversity of school
districts in the state to meet the four reclassification
criteria specified in current law;
ii) The extent to which school districts are following
the guidelines established by the SBE; and,
iii) The range of reclassification criteria developed by
school districts.
3)Requires the group of experts described in 2) a) above, to
develop a study design that may include a sampling methodology
for purposes of selecting the school districts that will be
part of the review and analysis to identify best practices.
4)Provides that the CDE shall analyze for purposes of the
required examination, all of the following:
a) English language proficiency and academic performance
data;
b) The relationship of the reclassification criteria to
reclassification rates;
c) The academic performance of pupils after
reclassification as English proficient; and,
d) The relationship of the reclassification criteria to the
academic performance of pupils after reclassification.
5)Stipulates that the CDE shall identify in its report any other
pupil outcome measures that indicate an EL is prepared to
successfully transition to a classroom and curricula that
require English proficiency.
6)Requires by January 1, 2014, the CDE to issue a report that
includes the findings, research, analysis, recommendations,
and best practices as stipulated in this bill.
7)Requires By January 1, 2017, the CDE to issue an updated
report that reflects any changes in analysis and
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recommendations as a result of the adoption of the common core
standards and the revised English language development
standards.
8)Provides that this bill shall be implemented only if state or
federal funds are appropriated or private funds are made
available, as necessary, to fully fund this purpose.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, one-time General Fund/Proposition 98 or federal fund
costs, likely between $400,000 and $500,000, to CDE to contract
for a review and analysis of school districts reclassification
procedures for EL pupils. This measure is required to be
implemented only if state or federal funds are appropriated for
this purpose or private funds are made available. It is unclear
if federal No Child Left Behind Act Title III: Language
Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant
Students funds are able to be used to fund this analysis due to
state supplanting issues.
COMMENTS : Nearly 1.4 million of the state's 6.2 million
students were identified as ELs during the 2010-11 school year,
representing 23% of the state's total kindergarten through grade
12 (K-12) public school enrollment. State and federal laws
require that all students whose primary language is other than
English be assessed for English language proficiency until they
are reclassified as English proficient. Current law requires
reclassification procedures to utilize multiple criteria,
including but not limited to an assessment of English
proficiency, teacher evaluation, parental opinion and
consultation, and a comparison of performance in basic skills,
as specified.
The author states, "Current law is not limited to these four
criteria and allows school districts to create any amount of
their own. This has led to inconsistency in the
reclassification system. Every school in California has their
own, unique criteria for reclassifying English Learners.
California cannot hold the English Learner system accountable
when every school is using different measurements of
accountability. SB 1108 would identify, and recommend for
adoption, the best practices for English Learner
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reclassification."
This bill seeks to collect information from a sample of school
districts regarding reclassification criteria, policies and
practices used by the sampled districts and requires the CDE to
analyze this information and make recommendations to the
Legislature and the SBE on guidelines, regulations, or statutory
changes that may be necessary to identify when ELs are prepared
for the successful transition to classrooms and curricula that
require English proficiency and identify best practices for
reclassification of English learners.
The reclassification dilemma: In determining when the
appropriate time is to reclassify ELs, two issues emerge. One
is the potentially premature reclassification of ELs which could
result in the loss of instructional services and supports before
they are ready, and this could eventually lead to greater risk
of educational failure. The second issue is the possibility of
holding ELs back from reclassification longer than necessary,
which may result in ELs experiencing reduced access to courses
needed for postsecondary education.
The report, Effects of the Implementation of Proposition 227 on
the Education of English Learners, K-12 studied the
reclassification policies and practices of nine school districts
in California to identify how local and state policies and
practices contribute to different EL outcomes. The report notes
that current state guidelines on criteria and cut-scores
generate confusion and ambiguity about the meaning of
reclassification. The report notes that there are various
perceptions in the field regarding the significance of
reclassification. Some districts view it as ELs reaching
"minimum competency" to participate in mainstream classrooms
with no further specialized services. For other districts,
reclassification means that there is comparability between ELs
and native English speakers' academic performance in the
district. In other instances it is viewed as ELs having
recouped the "academic deficits" that ELs incur while developing
English language skills. Lastly, some believe that
reclassification demonstrates English learners' ability to meet
grade-level standards and to be academically successful. In
consideration of these issues, the report points out, "Virtually
all of our sample districts expressed support for establishing
consistent cut scores statewide on California's two common
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criteria. At the same time, these educators also expressed
concern that the state may set these criteria too low, or decide
to eliminate the use of local assessments, which districts
highly value as a source of 'multiple measures' to increase
confidence in their decisions to redesignate."
In consideration of the diversity of California's 1.4 million
ELs, it is not clear that there is one set of reclassification
criteria that is optimal for all ELs, particularly when, as
noted above, there are various interpretations of what
reclassification means. While there is still no consensus as to
whether one set of uniform reclassification criteria is
desirable, the intent of this bill is to provide information on
best practices and to provide districts with a menu of options
of proven methods for reclassification of ELs. Districts would
still have flexibility but they would have more guidance on what
works in terms of reclassification criteria.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avi�a / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0005070