(a) (1) The Superintendent shall review existing assessments that assess the English language development of pupils whose primary language is a language other than English. The assessment for initial identification and the summative assessment shall include, but not be limited to, an assessment of achievement of these pupils in English reading, speaking, and written skills. The Superintendent shall determine which assessments, if any, meet the requirements of subdivisions (b) to (f), inclusive. If any existing assessment or series of assessments meets these criteria, the Superintendent, with approval of the state board, shall report to the Legislature on its findings and recommendations.
(2) If no suitable assessment exists, the Superintendent shall explore the option of a collaborative effort with other states to develop an assessment or series of assessments and share assessment development costs. If no suitable assessment exists, the Superintendent, with the approval of the state board, shall either release a request for proposals for the development of an assessment or series of assessments that meets the criteria of subdivisions (b) to (f), inclusive, contract to modify an existing assessment or series of assessments so that it will meet the requirements of subdivisions (b) to (f), inclusive, or amend the contract authorized pursuant to Section 60643 so that an assessment or a series of assessments are developed or modified to meet the requirements of subdivisions (b) to (f), inclusive. The state board shall approve assessment blueprints, assessment performance descriptors,
and performance-level cut scores based on standard settings.
(3) The Superintendent shall apportion funds appropriated to enable school districts to meet the requirements of subdivisions (c) and (e). The state board shall establish the amount of funding to be apportioned per assessment administered, based on a review of the cost per assessment for initial identification and summative assessment purposes.
(4) An adjustment to the amount of funding to be apportioned per assessment is not valid without the approval of the Director of Finance. A request for approval of an adjustment to the amount of funding to be apportioned per assessment shall be submitted in writing to the Director of Finance and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature with
accompanying material justifying the proposed adjustment. The Director of Finance is authorized to approve only those adjustments related to activities required by statute. The Director of Finance shall approve or disapprove the amount within 30 days of receipt of the request and shall notify the chairpersons of the fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature of the decision.
(b) (1) The assessment or series of assessments developed or acquired pursuant to subdivision (a) shall have sufficient range to assess pupils in grades 2 to 12, inclusive, in English listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. These assessments shall include the use of accessibility resources, as may be determined by the department, and those determinations shall not be subject to the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act
(Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). Pupils in kindergarten and grade 1 shall be assessed in English listening and speaking, and, once an assessment is developed, early literacy skills. Six months after the results of three administrations are collected, but no later than June 30, 2013, the department shall report to the Legislature on the administration of the kindergarten and grade 1 early literacy assessment results, as well as on the administrative process, in order to determine whether reauthorization of the early literacy assessment is appropriate.
(2) In the development and administration of the assessment for pupils in kindergarten and grade 1, the department shall minimize any additional assessment time, to the extent possible. To the extent that it is
technically possible, items that are used to assess listening and speaking shall be used to measure early literacy skills. The department shall ensure that the assessment and procedures for its administration are age and developmentally appropriate. Age- and developmentally appropriate procedures for administration may include, but are not limited to, one-on-one administration, a small group setting, and orally responding or circling a response to a question.
(3) For purposes of this subdivision, “kindergarten” does not include transitional kindergarten.
(4) The assessment for initial identification
developed or acquired pursuant to subdivision (a) shall have sufficient range to identify if the pupil is an English learner, as defined by Section 306.
(c) The assessment for initial identification shall meet all of the following requirements:
(1) Have psychometric properties of reliability and validity deemed adequate by technical experts.
(2) Be capable of administration to pupils with any primary language other than English.
(3) Be capable of administration by classroom teachers.
(4) Not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or gender.
(5) Be aligned with the standards for English language development adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 60811.3, as it read on June 30, 2013.
(6) Be age and developmentally appropriate for pupils.
(d) The assessment for initial identification shall be used to identify pupils who are limited English proficient.
(e) The summative assessment shall meet all of the following requirements:
(1) Provide sufficient information about pupils at each grade level to determine levels of proficiency ranging from no English proficiency to fluent English proficiency with at least two intermediate levels.
(2) Yield scores that allow comparison of the growth of a pupil over time, that may be tied to readiness for various instructional options, and that may be aggregated for use in the evaluation of program effectiveness.
(3) Have psychometric properties of reliability and validity deemed adequate by technical experts.
(4) Be capable of administration to pupils with any primary language other than English.
(5) Be capable of administration by classroom teachers.
(6) Not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or gender.
(7) Be aligned with the standards for English language development
adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 60811.3, as it read on June 30, 2013.
(8) Be age and developmentally appropriate for pupils.
(f) The summative assessment shall be used for both of the following purposes:
(1) To identify the level of English language proficiency of pupils who are limited English proficient.
(2) To assess the progress of limited-English-proficient pupils in acquiring the skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing in English.
(g) (1) A pupil in any of grades 3 to 12, inclusive, shall not be required to retake those portions of the assessment that
measure English language skills for which the pupil has previously tested as advanced within each appropriate grade span, as determined by the department in accordance with paragraph (8) of subdivision (e).
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a pupil in any of grades 10 to 12, inclusive, shall not be required to retake those portions of the assessment that measure English language skills for which the pupil has previously tested as early advanced or advanced.
(3) This subdivision shall not be implemented unless and until the department receives written documentation from the United States Department of Education that implementation is permitted by federal law.
(h) (1) The Superintendent shall
not administer an assessment for initial identification or a summative assessment pursuant to this section until both assessments are developed and adopted by the state board.
(2) The Superintendent shall report to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature when the assessments are ready for their initial administration.
(Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 15, Sec. 3. (AB 2268) Effective June 14, 2024. Note: See administrative conditions in subd. (g).)
(a) Commencing in the 2019–20 school year, a middle school or high school pupil who is classified as an English learner, except as specified in subdivision (d), shall not be denied participation in the standard instructional program of a school by being denied any of the following:
(1) Enrollment in courses that are part of the standard instructional program of the school that the pupil attends. For purposes of this section, “standard instructional program” means, at a minimum, core curriculum courses, as defined in clause (i) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 33126, courses required to meet state and local graduation requirements, and courses
required for middle school grade promotion.
(2) Enrollment in a full course load of courses that are part of the standard instructional program.
(3) Enrollment in courses that are not part of a school’s standard instructional program that either meet the subject matter requirements for purposes of recognition for college admission pursuant to Section 66205.5 or are advanced courses, such as honors or advanced placement courses, on the sole basis of a pupil’s classification as an English learner.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a school to create supplemental courses in languages other than English.
(c) For purposes of this section,
“pupil” includes a pupil attending a school operated by a school district or a county office of education, a charter school, or the state special schools for the blind and the deaf.
(d) (1) Provided that, pursuant to federal law, the pupil’s course of study is designed to remedy any academic deficits incurred during participation and that the pupil’s course of study is reasonably calculated to enable that pupil to attain parity of participation in the standard instructional program within a reasonable length of time after the pupil enters the school system, the following pupils may be denied access to enrollment in a course described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a):
(A) (i) A middle school or high school pupil who is classified as an English learner and who is a newcomer pupil.
(ii) For purposes of clause (i), “newcomer pupil” has the same meaning as “immigrant children and youth,” as defined in Section 7011(5) of Title 20 of the United States Code.
(B) A middle school or high school pupil who is classified as an English learner and who is participating in a program designed to meet the academic
and transitional needs of newcomer pupils that has as a primary objective the development of English language proficiency.
(2) This section shall not be construed to prohibit, restrict, or discourage the enrollment of a pupil described in paragraph (1) in courses described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 342, Sec. 5. (AB 714) Effective January 1, 2024.)