BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 1109 (Padilla) - English Learner Master Plan.
Amended: April 18, 2012 Policy Vote: Education 7-2
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 14, 2012 Consultant: Jacqueline
Wong-Hernandez
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 1109 requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) to develop an English Learner Master Plan to
expand support services, as specified, by January 1, 2014. It
requires the SPI to report on the plan and provide
recommendations for statutory, regulatory, and administrative
changes needed to the Legislature and the state board of
education (SBE) by July 1, 2014.
Fiscal Impact:
Master Plan creation: $200,000 - $300,000 to implement the
stakeholder process and develop the specified plan.
Master Plan implementation: The SPI is required provide
recommendations for "statutory, regulatory, or
administrative changes necessary to implement the Master
Plan" which will create cost pressure to implement the plan.
Background: Existing law provides for local English learner
plans in order to secure certain funding, but does not provide
for a state-wide plan. The English Learner and Immigrant Pupil
Federal Conformity Act, consistent with the requirements of
Title III of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001,
requires an eligible local educational agency (LEA) desiring a
grant from Title III funds to submit a plan for English learners
to the California Department of Education (CDE) outlining
programs, activities, accountability measures, parental
engagement and participation, assurances of consultation with
specified entities, and a description of how language
instruction education programs ensure that English learners
served by the programs will develop English proficiency.
Current law also requires the establishment of a District-Level
English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC) on bilingual
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education, as specified, for any school district with 51 or more
English learners, as a condition of receiving Economic Impact
Aid funding. (EC � 62002.5)
Among other things, the DELAC is responsible for the development
or revision of a district master plan of education programs and
services for English learners. Schools with more than 20 English
learners are required to establish a school level advisory
committee, as specified, which is responsible for advising the
principal and staff on the development of a detailed master plan
for bilingual education for the school and submitting the plan
to the governing board for consideration for inclusion in the
district master plan. (EC � 52176)
Proposed Law: This bill requires the SPI to develop the English
Learner Master Plan to expand the support services provided by
the department in assisting LEAs to establish, implement, and
sustain language instruction educational programs and programs
of English language development for English learner pupils. In
developing the Master Plan, the SPI is required to consult with
experts in the field of English learner education, teachers of
English learner pupils, school and school district
administrators with expertise in curriculum, instruction,
assessment, and accountability, parents of English learner
pupils, and local governing board members, and to consider
specified information and priorities.
This bill requires the English Learner Master Plan to include,
at a minimum, all of the following: (a) The efficient use of
federal funding; (b) consistent, reliable, and valid methods for
identifying, classifying, and reclassifying English learners;(c)
best practices in instruction, as specified; (d) programs that
facilitate an effective transition to common core academic
content standards; (e) programs that address the needs of
long-term English learners; (f) preparation for college and
career readiness; (g) professional development programs for
school employees, as specified; and, (h) an effective means of
informing parents or legal guardians of English learners about
becoming involved and assisting their children to meet state
academic and achievement standards.
The SPI is required to report on the Master Plan to the
Legislature and the SBE and provide recommendations for
statutory, regulatory, or administrative changes necessary to
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implement the Master Plan.
Related Legislation: SB 1108 (Padilla) requires LEAs to report
the criteria they use to determine whether or not to reclassify
an English learner student the CDE, by July 1, 2013. It requires
the CDE, to review and analyze the reported information, as
specified, and report to the Legislature its findings, as well
as recommendations for guideline, regulation, and statutory
changes related to reclassifying English learners. That bill
will also be heard in this Committee on May 14, 2012.
Staff Comments: Developing an English Learner Master Plan that
meets all of the requirements outlined in the bill, and that is
created in consultation with the stakeholders identified in the
bill, is expected to drive one-time CDE costs of approximately
$200,000-$300,000 to fund additional staff to support the
development of the Master Plan envisioned in this bill. The CDE
has indicated that it is working on developing an English
Learner Master Plan, but this bill expands the scope of the
plan, specifies new priorities for the plan, and requires
certain stakeholders to be involved.
In addition to direct costs for creating the Master Plan, this
bill creates cost pressure to expand services; the stated
intention of this bill is to expand services provided to English
learners. The largest costs of this bill are likely to be the
potential future cost of implementing the Master Plan's
recommendations. To the extent that a plan is created which
calls for additional services for the state's 1.5 million
English learner pupils, the plan will create substantial cost
pressure to fund new services in a time when K-12 education
continues to be cut.