Bill Text: CA AB2350 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: English learners: participation in standard instructional program.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - Died on inactive file. [AB2350 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB2350-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2350 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 19, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 1, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 28, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 19, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member O'Donnell
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
An act to amend Section 44253.2 of, and to add Sections
60811.6 and add Section 60811.8 to,
to the Education Code, relating to English
learners.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2350, as amended, O'Donnell. English learners.
learners: participation in standard instructional
program.
Existing law requires the State Board of Education to
adopt curriculum frameworks and evaluation criteria that are aligned
to specified content standards for English language arts on or before
July 30, 2014. each school district that has one or
more pupils who are English learners, and, to the extent required by
federal law, each county office of education and each charter school,
to assess the English language development of each pupil in order to
determine the pupil's level of proficiency, as specified, and
requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to review existing
assessments that assess the English language development of pupils
whose primary language is a language other than English.
This bill would define the terms "designated English
language development" and "integrated English language development"
for purposes of the English Language Arts/English Development
Framework adopted by the state board, as specified. The bill would
specify that, except as provided, a middle or high school
pupil who is enrolled in an English language development
course or is classified as an English learner and
scores at any proficiency level on the assessment of English language
development shall not be prevented from enrolling
denied participation in a school's standard
instructional program, as defined, by being denied enrollment
in specified other courses courses,
including, among others, courses required for
graduation, middle school grade promotion, or meeting specified
graduation and college admission
standards, as applicable. admission. By imposing
additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to
issue an authorization to teach specially designed content
instruction delivered in English, as defined, to English learner
pupils.
This bill would revise the definition of "specially designed
content instruction delivered in English" for purposes of specified
teacher credentialing provisions.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) California is home to the largest population of English
learners in the country, and one in three English learners in the
United States resides in California.
(b) There are approximately 1.4 million English learners in
California public schools. About 2.7 million pupils speak a language
other than English in their homes, representing about 43 percent of
the state's public school enrollment.
(c) California's English learner pupils score substantially lower
on state assessments than non-English learner pupils. While there has
been incremental growth in achievement among pupils in the general
population, scores for English learners have largely remained static,
widening the achievement gap between English learners and their
peers over time.
(d) On the 2015 administration of the California Assessment of
Student Performance, 11 percent of English learners in all grades met
or exceeded standards in English language arts/literacy and 11
percent in math, compared with 69 percent and 55 percent for those
subjects, respectively, for pupils proficient in English.
(e) The English Language Arts/English Language Development
Framework adopted by the State Board of Education in 2014 represents
an important state endorsement of the use of both designated English
language development and the integration of English language
development across the curriculum. This combined approach will
require major changes in teaching and learning for all pupils,
including English learners, and there is a need for training for, and
technical assistance to, teachers and administrators on implementing
these instructional reforms.
(f)
(c) Recent research examining course-taking
patterns of English learners in multiple California school districts
has found that English learners are less likely than
non-English learners to be enrolled in core academic subject
courses courses, including English language arts,
mathematics, and science, and, as a result, earn fewer credits
than non-English learner pupils. Research has further found that
limited access to courses in English language arts is
largely due to English language development classes being used as
substitutes for, rather than complements to, English language arts,
and due to the enrollment of elementary and secondary English
learners in intervention classes for English language arts and math
that are not designed for English learners' language and academic
needs.
(g) Graduation rates for English learners are lower than for the
general population and for other subgroups of pupils. According to
the State Department of Education, the overall 2013-14 four-year
cohort graduation rate was 81 percent, while the rate for English
learners was 65 percent, the lowest of any subgroup besides pupils in
special education. The dropout rate for English learners, at 21
percent, was the highest of any subgroup.
(h) English language development classes aligned to the state
English Language Development standards are designed to give access to
core academic subjects while developing English proficiency, and are
part of the academic core for English learners.
(i) There are many options for addressing the issues of access and
course offerings for English Learners in middle and high school.
(d) (1) The federal Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974
(20 U.S.C. Sec. 1701 et seq.), as interpreted by the court in
Casta�eda v. Pickard (1981) 648 F.2d 989, prohibits the denial of
English learners' equal participation in the standard instructional
programs of schools, and requires programs that are used in the early
part of an English learner's school career that first focus on the
development of English language skills to be designed to remedy any
academic deficits in other areas that may develop during
participation in the program and to be reasonably calculated to
enable pupils to attain parity of participation in the standard
instructional program within a reasonable length of time after they
enter the school system.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature to clarify these
requirements for California public schools.
SEC. 2. Section 44253.2 of the Education Code is
amended to read:
44253.2. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall
have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Instruction for English language development" means
instruction designed specifically for English learner pupils to
develop their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in
English.
(b) "Specially designed content instruction delivered in English"
or "specially designed academic instruction in English" means
instruction in a subject area, delivered in English, that is
specially designed to meet the needs of English learner pupils, and
the focus of which is on instruction of the state academic content
standards and on increasing the comprehensibility of academic content
in courses normally provided to fluent-English-proficient and
English-only pupils.
(c) "Content instruction delivered in the primary language" means
instruction in a subject area delivered in the primary language of
the pupil.
(d) "Instruction for primary language development" means
instruction designed to develop a pupil's listening, speaking,
reading, and writing skills in the primary language of the pupil.
(e) "Culture and cultural diversity" means an understanding of
human relations, including the following:
(1) The nature and content of culture.
(2) Cross-cultural contact and interactions.
(3) Cultural diversity in the United States and California.
(4) Approaches to providing instruction responsive to the
diversity of the pupil population.
(5) Recognizing and responding to behavior related to bias based
on the characteristics listed in Section 220.
(6) Techniques for the peaceful resolution of conflict.
SEC. 3. Section 60811.6 is added to the
Education Code, to read:
60811.6. (a) The English Language Arts/English Language
Development Framework adopted by the state board pursuant to Section
60207 states that English learners at all English proficiency levels
and at all ages require a comprehensive program of English language
development that includes both integrated English language
development and specialized attention to their particular language
learning needs, otherwise known as designated English language
development, as part of their daily curriculum.
(b) The following definitions shall apply to the English Language
Arts/English Language Development Framework referenced in subdivision
(a):
(1) "Designated English language development" means instruction
designed for English learners according to their level of English
proficiency to overcome language barriers in a reasonable amount of
time, during a protected time in the regular schoolday, in which
teachers use the California English Language Development Standards as
the focal standards in ways that build into and from content
instruction in order to develop the critical language that English
learners need for content learning in English.
(2) "Integrated English language development" means instruction in
which all teachers with English learners in their classrooms,
regardless of the course content, use the California English Language
Development Standards in tandem with the California state standards.
SEC. 4. Section 60811.8 is added to the
Education Code, to read:
60811.8. (a) A middle or high school pupil who is enrolled in an
English language development course or who is classified as an
English learner shall not be prevented from doing either of the
following:
(1) Enrolling in core curriculum courses in English language arts
or any other course required for graduation, middle school grade
promotion, or meeting the subject matter requirements for purposes of
recognition for college admission pursuant to Section 66205.5, as
applicable.
(2) Taking a full course load in core subjects required for
graduation, middle school grade promotion, or meeting the subject
matter requirements for purposes of recognition for college admission
pursuant to Section 66205.5, as applicable.
(b) (1) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to a pupil participating
in a program designed to meet the academic and transitional needs of
newly arrived immigrants unless the pupil meets the local educational
agency's exit criteria for transition into a general education
program.
(2) The department may provide guidance on the implementation of
this subdivision.
SEC. 2. Section 60811.8 is added to the
Education Code , to read:
60811.8. (a) Consistent with federal law, a middle or high school
pupil who is classified as an English learner and scores at any
proficiency level on the assessment of English language development
established pursuant to Section 60810 or any successor assessment
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 advanced
placement courses, on the sole basis of a pupil's classification as
an English learner.
(b) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to a middle 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 newly arrived immigrant pupils that has as a
primary objective the development of English language proficiency,
provided that, pursuant to federal law, the program is designed to
remedy any academic deficits incurred during participation and that
the program's design is reasonably calculated to enable these pupils
to attain parity of participation in the standard instructional
program within a reasonable length of time after they enter the
school system.
SEC. 5. SEC. 3. If the Commission on
State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by
the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for
those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section
17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
