SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Benjamin Allen, Chair
2017 - 2018 Regular
Bill No:
Author:
Version:
Urgency:
Consultant:

SB 463
Lara
March 27, 2017
No
Olgalilia Ramirez

Hearing Date:

April 5, 2017

Fiscal:

Yes

Subject: English learners: reclassification
SUMMARY
This bill deletes the requirement for the California Department of Education (CDE) to
establish procedures for the reclassification of a student from English learner to English
proficient and would instead require a local educational agency to determine
reclassification according to the specified criteria for purposes of establishing statewide
standards for reclassifying English learners.
BACKGROUND
Existing federal and State law require that each school district with English language
learners annually assess these students' English language development until they are
redesignated as English proficient. The assessment, the California English Language
Development Test (CELDT), must be administered to all students whose primary
language is not English within 30 calendar days after they are enrolled in a California
public school for the first time, and annually thereafter during a period of time
determined by the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of
Education (SBE) until they are reclassified as fluent English proficient.
Existing law requires the CDE, with the approval of the State Board of Education (SBE),
to establish procedures for conducting the CELDT and for the reclassification of a pupil
from English learner to English proficient. Current law requires the reclassification
procedures developed by the CDE to use multiple criteria, including, but not limited to,
all of the following:
1.

An assessment of language proficiency.

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 student’s performance 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.
(Education Code § 313)

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Existing law, enacted by SB 1108 (Padilla, Chapter 434, Statues of 2012), requires the
California Department of Education (CDE), if state federal or private funds are provided
for this purpose, to review and analyze the criteria, policies and practices that school
districts use to reclassify English learners and to recommend any policy changes
necessary to identify when English learners are prepared for reclassification. The CDE
was required to issue a report of its findings, research, analysis, recommendations, and
best practices by January 1, 2014, and by January 1, 2017, to issue an updated report
that reflects changes in the analysis and recommendations as the result of the adoption
of the common core standards and in the adoption of a common core standards aligned
English language development test. (Education Code § 313.5)
ANALYSIS
This bill deletes the requirement for the Department of Education (CDE) to establish
procedures for the reclassification of a student from English learner to English proficient
and would instead require a local educational agency (LEA) to determine
reclassification according to the specified criteria for purposes of establishing statewide
standards for reclassifying English learners. Specifically, it:
1)

2)

Commencing with the 2018-2019 school year requires a LEA that has one or
more students who are English learners in grades 3 to 12, and who do not have
an individualized education program (IEP) or a student disability accommodation
plan, as specified, to determine whether to reclassify according to the following:
a)

Assessment of language proficiency using the English language
development assessment that is identified or developed pursuant to
existing law.

b)

Teacher evaluation of the student’s English language arts curriculum
mastery.

c)

The opinion of and consultation with, parents and guardians.

d)

Comparison of the performance of the student in English language arts
against an empirically established range of performance in basic skills
based upon the performance of English proficient students of the same
age using the results from English Language Arts California Assessment
of Student Performance and Progress.

Commencing with the 2018-2019 school year, authorizes a LEA to determine
whether to reclassify an English learner in grades K to 2 who does not have an
IEP or a student disability accommodation plan according to the following:
a)

Assessment of language proficiency using the English language
development assessment that is identified or developed pursuant to
existing law.

b)

Teacher evaluation of the students English language arts curriculum
mastery.

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3)

Page 3 of 6

c)

The opinion of, and consultation with, parents and guardians.

d)

Academic performance of the students in English language arts as
measured by grades or locally developed assessments.

On or before March 1, 2018, requires the California Department of Education
(CDE), with the approval of the state board of education (SBE), to develop
guidance related to the provisions of this bill that includes but not limited to:
a)

A definition of a student’s “curriculum mastery” in English language arts.

b)

Detailed information on the implementation of parent consultation.

4)

On or before September 1, 2018, the CDE, in consultation with SBE, to develop
and submit recommendations to the Legislature regarding the appropriate
reclassification criteria for English learner students with individualized education
programs or student disability accommodation plans adopted pursuant to federal
law, as specified.

5)

On or before July 1, 2018 requires the SBE in consultation with the CDE, to
determine minimum scores on specified assessments for reclassification of a
student as English proficient.

6)

Provides that an English learner is immediately eligible for reclassification if the
student attains those minimum scores on the assessment, unless the local
education agency (LEA) determines there is academic related evidence the
student will not be successful in a mainstream curriculum.

7)

Requires a LEA that has a numerically significant student subgroup of English
learners or that includes specific goals and actions of that student subgroup in its
local control and accountability plan to complete specific actions for purposes of
reclassifying students as English proficient to do all of the following:

8)

a)

Identify a group of teachers and administrators with expertise relating
English learners to meet regularly for purposes of ensuring English
learners are being reclassified, as specified. A LEA with an average daily
attendance of fewer than 1,000 students may form a partnership with
another LEA’s.

b)

Develop a process and procedures to monitor the academic performance
of students four years after their reclassification as English proficient.

c)

Review current process and procedures for the placement of English
learners in a special education program, as specified.

States the intent of the Legislature that school district and school site staff
receive professional development on English learner reclassification criteria prior
to implementation of the provisions of this bill.

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9)

Deletes obsolete provisions relating to the reclassification of a student from
English learner to English proficient.

10)

Makes other technical changes.

STAFF COMMENTS
1)

Need for the bill. Criteria for the reclassification of a student from English
learner to English proficient vary widely among school districts across the state.
According to the author, disparate reclassification policies often create confusion
and conflict between districts, teachers, and parents. When a student moves to a
new school district, they may have been reclassified as English proficient in their
prior school, but do not meet the standards in their new school. With the passage
of Local Control Funding Formula, school districts are required to meet eight
state priorities for all students, with particular emphasis on English learner and
low-income students. The author asserts, that with greater priority and emphasis
on English learner reclassification and achievement, the existing system does not
allow for a comparison of district.
This bill seeks to establish statewide criteria for reclassifying English learners
and ensure students are appropriately reclassified, receive adequate support and
are prepared to participate in mainstream instructional programs.

2)

3)

Recent related report. In January 2014, the Public Policy Institute of California
(PPIC) issued a report, Reclassification of English Learners in California Schools,
which provided a longitudinal analysis of the transition from English learner to
Reclassified Fluent English Proficient (RFEP) in California school districts.
According to the report:
A.

Reclassified Fluent English Proficient (RFEP) students not only
outperform English learner students, but also often do as well as native
English speakers when it comes to measures of academic outcomes,
such as standardized tests and on-time grade progression.

B.

A survey of school districts indicates that more than 90 percent of
responding districts report using more demanding reclassification criteria
than are suggested by the State Board of Education (SBE) guidelines.

C.

Districts using more stringent reclassification criteria have lower
reclassification rates. However, using stricter criteria is also associated
with slightly better outcomes (in terms of ongoing language proficiency, for
example) for RFEP students. Stricter criteria are also associated with a
greater likelihood of on-time grade progress among students reclassified
in the 8th grade.

English learners and reclassification. According to the California Department
of Education (CDE), in the 2015-16 school year there were approximately 1.4
million English learners in California public schools, constituting 22.1 percent of
the total enrollment. The statewide average rate of annual reclassification of
English learners to English proficient is approximately 11 percent.

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Although English learner data is collected for 60 language groups, 94 percent
speak one of the top ten languages in the state, which include Spanish (84.24
percent), Vietnamese, Pilipino (Filipino or Tagalog), Cantonese, Mandarin,
Arabic, Hmong, Korean, Punjabi, and Russian. Research shows that
reclassification rates are lower among Spanish-speaking and low-income
students. In 2004, the proportion of Spanish-speaking students reclassified by
4th grade in California was roughly two-thirds that of non-Spanish speaking
English learners.
California does not have a uniform standard for reclassifying English learner
pupils. Instead, the State Board of Education has issued guidelines to school
districts recommending the metrics/information a district uses when making this
decision. No comprehensive information is available on what criteria are currently
utilized by school districts, whether districts follow the guidelines issued by the
State Board, or whether the reclassification criteria utilized have any relationship
to the successful transition of English learners into classrooms and curricula that
require English proficiency. It appears that districts use a variety of criteria for
determining whether or not to reclassify a student.
4)

Assessment of English learners. The current statewide assessment, as
required by federal and state laws, is the California English Language
Development Test (CELDT). The test is designed to measure listening, speaking,
reading and writing proficiencies in English and results from the test are used to
identify new students who are English learners, measure progress towards
English proficiency on an annual basis, and help determine when a student is
eligible for reclassification and can sufficiently participate in the mainstream
classes.
In 2015, the state began the development of a new English Language
Development Test, called the English Language Proficiency Assessment for
California (ELPAC). The new ELPAC is aligned to the new English Language
Development (ELD) standards, includes two different tests; an initial screener
and an annual summative assessment. Field testing of the ELPAC is scheduled
to begin in March 2017, and results from the field testing will be used for the
initial standards setting. The summative ELPAC will be given in the spring,
allowing for more days of instruction, and possible reclassification before the start
of the next school year as opposed to the CELDT which was given in the fall. The
ELPAC is anticipated to be more rigorous than its predecessor. English learners
are also subject to the same state assessments in academic content areas as
other non-English learner students. English learners do have some access to
supports, including translation of test instruction.

5)

Special education and English learners. According to the California
Department of Education (CDE), while 10 percent of California students qualify
for special education services, 9.1 percent of English proficient students and 14.4
percent of English learners qualify for these services. This shows that English
learners are identified for special education services at a higher rate than for nonEnglish learners. Compared to other states, California has an above average
percentage of English learners in special education and 35 percent of all English

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learners in special education in the country. The identification, assessment and
instruction of English learners who may qualify for special education services is a
complex process and inappropriate placements may cause a spike in rates. In
recognition of those complexities, this bill requires the California Department of
Education (CDE) to develop and submit recommendations to the Legislature
regarding the appropriate reclassification criteria for English learner students with
individualized education programs or student disability accommodation, in
consultation experts in both language development and special education.
6)

Prior and related legislation.
AB 785 (O’Donnell, Chapter 579, Statutes of 2016) requires, by July 1, 2018, the
California Department of Education to develop a manual for the purpose of
providing guidance to local educational agencies on identifying, assessing,
supporting and reclassifying English learners who may qualify for special
education services and students with disabilities who may be classified as
English learners.
SB 1108 ( Padilla, 2014) would have extended the deadline for the California
Department of Education to issue the report on English learner reclassification
established by SB 1108 (Padilla, Chapter 434, statutes of 2012) and also added
“reclassified English learners” as a numerically significant pupil subgroup for the
purposes of the Academic Performance Index. SB 1108 was held in Senate
Appropriations.

SUPPORT
Association of California School Administrators
California Federation of Teachers (CFT)
Families in School
Riverside County Superintendent of Schools
San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD)
OPPOSITION
None received.
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