SB 750: English language education: English learners.

(1)Existing law requires each school district that has one or more pupils who are English learners, and, to the extent required by federal law, a county office of education and a charter school, to assess the English language development of each of those pupils in order to determine the pupils level of proficiency. Existing law requires the State Department of Education, with the approval of the State Board of Education, to establish procedures for conducting the assessment and for the reclassification of a pupil from English learner to English proficient.

Existing law defines long-term English learner as an English learner who is enrolled in any of grades 6 to 12, inclusive, has been enrolled in schools in the United States for more than 6 years, has remained at the same English language proficiency level for 2 or more consecutive years as determined by a specified English language development test, or any successor test, and scores far below basic or below basic on a certain English language arts standards-based achievement test, or any successor test.

This bill would revise that definition to instead mean, except as specified, an English learner who is enrolled in any of grades 6 to 12, inclusive, who has been enrolled in schools in the United States for 6 years or more, has remained at the same English language proficiency level for 2 or more consecutive prior years, or has regressed to a lower English language proficiency level, as determined by the specified English language development test, or a score determined by the Superintendent of Public Instruction on any successor test, and, for a pupil in any of grades 6 to 9, inclusive, scored far below basic or below basic on the specified English language arts standards-based achievement test, or a score determined by the Superintendent on any successor test. The bill would encourage the Superintendent to revisit the score determined for any successor test after 3 years of assessment data on the successor test.

(2)Existing law defines an English learner at risk of becoming a long-term English learner as an English learner who is enrolled in any of grades 5 to 11, inclusive, in schools in the United States for 4 years, scores at the intermediate level or below on the specified English language development test, or any successor test, and scores in the 4th year at the below basic or far below basic level on a certain English language arts standards-based achievement test, or any successor test.

This bill would revise that definition to instead mean, except as specified, an English learner who is enrolled in any of grades 3 to 12, inclusive, in schools in the United States for 4 to 5 years, scored at the intermediate level or below on the specified English language development test, or a score determined by the Superintendent on any successor test, and, for a pupil in any of grades 3 to 9, inclusive, scored in the 4th or 5th year at the below basic or far below basic level on the specified English language arts standards-based achievement test, or a score determined by the Superintendent on any successor test. The bill would encourage the Superintendent to revisit the score determined for any successor test after 3 years of assessment data on the successor test.

(3)Existing law requires the department to annually ascertain and provide to school districts and schools the number of pupils in each school district and school, as specified, who are, or are at risk of becoming, long-term English learners.

This bill would also require the department to post on the departments Internet Web site the number of long-term English learners and English learners at risk of becoming long-term English learners in the state.