Identification, Screening, Placement, and Assessment of English Learners and Exiting from LEP Status

1. Identification, Screening, Placement, and Assessment of English Learners andExiting from LEP Status • January 12, 2012Stacy Freeman, Title III SpecialistRobert Fugate, LEP Assessment Specialist

2. Purpose of Title III Improvement Webinars These webinars will address • compliance with federal and state provisions for the education of English learners (ELs); • understanding and using assessment data to inform instruction for ELs; • VDOE resources available for reading and mathematics instruction; and • developing and implementing a continuous improvement model for Title III.

3. Purpose of Webinar Understanding the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) requirements for accountability (identification, screening, and placement) and assessment of ELs is critical to administering a compliant and effective English language instructional program to ensure ELs are provided full and equal access to the same curriculum and educational opportunities as all students.

4. Federal and State Law

5. Federal Law The requirement for school divisions to identify, screen, and place English learners (ELs) is not explicitly stated in federal law. Rather, this requirement stems from various court rulings and federal policy decisions relating to the civil rights of ELs over the years.

6. Court Rulings and Federal Policy Decisions Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VI prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, color, or national origin by recipients of federal financial assistance. The Title VI regulatory requirements have been interpreted to prohibit denial of equal access to education because of a language minority student's limited proficiency in English.

7. Court Rulings and Federal Policy Decisions May 25th Memorandum (1970) To clarify a school district's responsibilities with respect to national-origin-minority children, the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, on May 25, 1970, issued a policy statement stating, in part, that "where inability to speak and understand the English language excludes national-origin-minority group children from effective participation in the educational program offered by a school district, the district must take affirmative steps to rectify the language deficiency in order to open the instructional program to the students.

8. Court Rulings and Federal Policy Decisions Lau v. Nichols (1974) A class action suit brought by parents of non-English-proficient Chinese students against the San Francisco Unified School District. In 1974, the Supreme Court ruled that identical education does not constitute equal education under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court ruled that the district must take affirmative steps to overcome educational barriers faced by the non-English speaking Chinese students in the district.

9. Court Rulings and Federal Policy Decisions Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 This civil rights statute prohibits states from denying equal educational opportunity to an individual on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin. The statute specifically prohibits states from denying equal educational opportunity by the failure of an educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by its students in its instructional programs.

10. Court Rulings and Federal Policy Decisions Castañeda v. Pickard (1981) The case established a three-part test to evaluate the adequacy of a district's program for ELL students: (1) is the program based on an educational theory recognized as sound by some experts in the field or is considered by experts as a legitimate experimental strategy; (2) are the programs and practices, including resources and personnel, reasonably calculated to implement this theory effectively; and (3) does the school district evaluate its programs and make adjustments where needed to ensure language barriers are actually being overcome?

11. Court Rulings and Federal Policy Decisions Plyler v. Doe (1982) A Texas statute which withholds from local school districts any state funds for the education of children who were not "legally admitted" into the United States, and which authorizes local school districts to deny enrollment to such children, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

12. Court Rulings and Federal Policy Decisions Office for Civil Rights Title VI Policy Update (1991) This policy update was primarily designed to ensure that schools are complying with their obligation under the regulation implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide any alternative language programs necessary to ensure that national origin minority students with limited English proficiency (LEP students) have meaningful access to the schools' programs. 

13. Civil Rights Requirements As a result of the court rulings and federal policy decisions presented in the previous slides, school divisions must have a procedure in place for identifying, screening, and placing ELs regardless of whether the division receives Title III funds. Civil rights requirements apply to all publicly funded education institutions, including public school divisions.

14. Content Assessment of ELs Section 1111(3)(C)(v) of the ESEA requires that ELs participate in state content assessments. ESEA also states in Section 1111(3)(C)(v)(ix)(III) that ELs “shall be assessed in a valid and reliable manner and provided reasonable accommodations on assessments” to yield accurate data on what such students know and can do in academic content areas until such students have achieved English language proficiency.

15. English Language Proficiency Assessment of ELs Section 1111(3)(C)(7) of the ESEA requires annual assessment of the English proficiency* of all students with limited English proficiency. *Measuring students’ oral language, reading, and writing skills in English

16. Virginia Law The requirement for the identification of students with limited English proficiency and enrollment of such students in appropriate instructional programs is also provided in the Code of Virginia. [COV § 22.1-253.13:1 D.11]

17. Identification

18. Equity in the Identification Process To comply with civil rights requirements, ELs must be identified during the enrollment process which is in place for all students at the division or school level to ensure comprehensive, consistent, and fair identification: • All students enrolling in the school division should be identified with the same procedures and in the same manner to ensure that students are not over- or under- identified as ELs. • Students should not be selectively identified based on ethnicity, name, appearance, or background.

19. Identifying Questions Identifying questions should be included in the enrollment process to ensure that ELs are consistently identified. Below are example questions: • What was the first language spoken by the student? • Is there a language other than English spoken at home? Which language(s)? • Does the student speak a language other than English?

20. Home Language Survey School divisions may choose to use a Home Language Survey (HLS) to determine the need for further English language proficiency screening and possible English as a Second Language (ESL) services. The HLS may be used to collect additional information about the student.

21. Questions about the Identification Process Can parents refuse to allow the student to participate in the identification process? No. Court rulings and federal policy presented on slides 6 through 12 have established the requirement that all school divisions must identify ELs during the enrollment process.

22. Questions about the Identification Process How should a student be identified as an English learner? Identifying questions must be included in the enrollment process for all students and may be part of a separate document, such as a home language survey.

23. Questions about the Identification Process Must school divisions identify, screen, and place the children of foreign military or foreign NATO families? Yes. Civil rights requirements provide that all students enrolling in the school division should be identified with the same procedures and in the same manner to ensure that students are not over- or under- identified as LEP. Students should not be selectively identified based on ethnicity, name, appearance, or background.

24. Questions about the Identification Process Must school divisions identify, screen, and place foreign exchange students? The question has been forwarded to the U.S. Department of Education for clarification.

25. Exiting LEP Status

26. Exiting LEP Status Exiting LEP status means that ELs have met the proficiency criteria on the ACCESS for ELLs test. They are formerly LEP for the following two school years and designated as Level 6, years 1 and 2. • Formerly LEP students no longer participate in ACCESS for ELLs testing. • The SOL reading and mathematics scores of formerly LEP students are included in the AYP LEP subgroup for the two years that the student is designated as Level 6.

27. Exiting LEP Status (continued) • Formerly LEP students are no long eligible for testing options or accommodations available to LEP students. • School divisions do not receive Title III funding for formerly LEP students. • The ESEA requires that students classified as formerly LEP (Level 6 Year 1 and Year 2) be monitored for two full academic years to ensure that they are able to participate meaningfully in the regular educational program.

28. Exiting LEP Status Sample documents are provided on the ESL page of the VDOE Web site under the Section (Standards, Assessment & Resources; Administrative Resources) to include: Sample: Title III Formerly Limited English Proficient (FLEP) Student Monitoring Plan Sample: Parent Notification of Exiting Limited English Proficient (LEP) Status and Two Year Monitoring Plan Sample: Monitoring Documents for Formerly LEP Students Grades K through 12 http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/esl/standards_resources/index.shtml

29. Questions about Exiting LEP Status How does a student exit LEP status? • An LEP student in kindergarten must take the Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs test and earn an Overall Score (Composite) of 5.0 or higher and a Literacy Score of 5.0 or higher. • An LEP student in grades 1 through 12 must take Tier C of the ACCESS for ELLs test and earn an Overall Score (Composite) of 5.0 or higher and a Literacy Score of 5.0 or higher.

30. Questions about Exiting LEP Status Can parents request that the LEP designation be removed from the student’s school records? The question has been forwarded to the U.S. Department of Education for clarification.

31. Screening

32. Screening Requirements: Once the identifying questions have been asked and the student has been identified as a potential EL during the enrollment process, an English language screening tool must be administered to determine the student’s English language proficiency level.

33. Screening School divisions must screen potential ELs to determine each student’s English language proficiency level. Divisions may use one of the following English language proficiency screening tools: 1. W-APT 2. WIDA MODEL 3. Locally developed or selected tool(s)

34. Screening Optional Screening tools*: Once a screening tool has been administered and the ELP level determined, additional assessments, such as reading or mathematics tests, may be administered to assist with placing the student appropriately in instructional programs. *Optional screening tools may not be used to determine a student’s English language proficiency level.

35. Questions about Screening Can the screening tool be used to determine that a student in kindergarten through grade12 has met the proficiency criteria? No. The WIDA screening tools are not tiered (proficiency criteria include testing on Tier C of the ACCESS for ELLs test). Furthermore, locally selected and developed screening tools may not be tiered or provide both composite and literacy scores.

36. Questions about Screening Can the score from the screening tool be used if no ACCESS for ELLs score is available? Yes. The score from the screening tool may be used only in the student assessment record to identify the student as LEP if the student has no ACCESS for ELLs score.

37. Questions about Screening How are the Kindergarten W-APT scores aligned with the WIDA English language proficiency levels? The Kindergarten W-APT score is descriptive, not numerical. The score is not aligned with the WIDA ELP levels and should only be used to determine instructional services. LEP students in kindergarten will be assigned a proficiency level after taking the Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs test.

38. Placement

39. Placement Once the screening tool has been used to determine the student is an EL and an ELP level has been provided, the student must be placed in an instructional program to help him or her attain high levels of academic achievement and develop English proficiency.

40. Placement An effective instructional program for ELs should be an integral part of a divisionwide academic achievement program. The Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL), in conjunction with the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA®) English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards, should guide the development of the instruction curriculum and the classroom instructional practices of both English as a Second Language (ESL) and general education teachers with ELs.

41. Placement Instructional programs and services for ELs must: • provide meaningful access to the same educational opportunities as all students; • allow meaningful participation in content classrooms with English speaking peers; • help ELs attain an academic level that is on par with English speaking peers; and • be based on sound educational theory.

42. Placement Additionally, • ELs cannot be placed in special education programs solely based on their lack of English language skills.  • LEAs implementing a program for ELs should provide resources sufficient enough to meet the intent of the program. • After a reasonable period of time past implementation, a program that fails to help ELs overcome linguistic barriers should be evaluated and revised.

43. Placement 30-Day Notification Letter: School divisions must inform parents annually regarding their child’s placement in a language instruction education program within 30 days after the beginning of the school year, or within two weeks of the child’s placement within a program. A checklist and sample letter have been posted to the VDOE/ESL Web site, which include the eight required elements by the ESEA. http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/esl/standards_resources/resources/parental_notification_checklist.pdf

44. Questions about Placement How should ELs be placed in instructional programs with regard to age and grade? It is recommended that ELs be placed in the appropriate grade as indicated by age. The table on the next slide displays the age and recommended grade-level placement for students younger than 14 years of age.

45. Questions about Placement

46. Questions about Placement How should ELs be graded? The Virginia Department of Education does not provide guidance on grading policies. School divisions determine grading policies.

47. Questions about Placement What are the required minutes of service for ELs? The Virginia Department of Education does not mandate minutes of service for ELs. School divisions determine whether to require minutes of service for ELs.

48. Questions about Placement Is a school division required to provide ESL teachers for ELs? The Code of Virginia states that school divisions shall provide17 full-time instructional positions for each 1,000 students identified as having limited English proficiency. [COV §22.1-253.13.2F] http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+22.1-253.13C2

49. Questions about Placement Are school divisions required to serve ELs beyond age 18? In 1994, the Code of Virginia was amended to address whether local school boards may provide instruction for students beyond age 18. School boards may accept and provide programs for students for whom English is a second language who entered school in Virginia for the first time after reaching their twelfth birthday, and who have not reached 22 years of age on or before August 1 of the school year. No tuition shall be charged such students, if state funding is provided for such programs. [COV, § 22.1-5. D]

50. Questions about Placement What are parent’s rights regarding removing a student from ESL programs and services? Section 3302 of the ESEA provides that parents have the right to remove a student at any time from ESL programs and services. However, the parent’s decision does not waive the obligation of the school division to provide other programs and services to help the student attain high levels of academic achievement and develop English proficiency.