2 EDCAL July 24 , 2017
State Board of Education approves ‘ English Learner Roadmap ’ to help more than 1.4 million students
During its July meeting , the State Board of Education approved a revolutionary “ English Learner Roadmap ” to help California ’ s more than 1,000 school districts welcome , understand , and educate the diverse population of students who are learning English .
In what was an emotional discussion , with comments from the public , the State Board of Education adopted a revised California English Learner Roadmap Policy that replaces the 1998 guidance adopted after the passage of Proposition 227 .
The new policy cites four principals for serving EL :
• Assets-oriented and needs-responsive schools .
• Intellectual quality of instruction and meaningful access .
• System conditions that support effectiveness .
• Alignment and articulation within and across systems .
California has about 1.4 million students – one of every four public school students statewide – classified as English Learners . The Roadmap is the first new language
policy adopted in nearly 20 years , removes outdated barriers to bilingual and multilingual instruction , and will help schools meet updated state and federal education laws and requirements .
“ This is a terrific step forward to help students in the wonderfully diverse state of California ,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson . “ The road map will guide teachers and school districts all across California as they help students on their way to success in 21st century careers and college .”
As a result of the passage of Proposition 58 to expand bilingual education in California , a ballot initiative ACSA supported on the November 2016 ballot , the California Department of Education has initiated a 45-day public comment period on the draft regulations .
State Board President Michael Kirst said passage of the roadmap marks both an end and a beginning . “ With this vote , the state puts regressive policies in our past and embarks on a new , inclusive path toward ensuring California ’ s promise of college and career readiness for all students is fulfilled .”
California voters last year overwhelmingly approved Proposition 58 , which removed a number of legal barriers to bilingual learning . The measure will ensure that all students receive the highest quality education , master the English language , and access high-quality and innovative language programs .
Past restrictions date back to 1998 , when Proposition 227 passed and placed nearly all English Learner students in English-only classrooms .
Demand for bilingual and multilingual instruction has been growing as proficiency in more than one language helps students compete for college admissions and jobs . For example , high school seniors who demonstrated dual language skills can earn a gold “ Seal of Biliteracy ” on their diplomas . In the Class of 2016 , more than 40,000 students earned the seal , four times the number when the state-authorized program started in 2010 .
The English Learner Roadmap will also help California schools comply with the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act and the state ’ s Local Control Funding
Formula , both of which require specific assistance so English Learners can meet the same academic standards as other students .
The Roadmap started as a recommendation of Torlakson ’ s “ Blueprint for Great Schools Version 2.0 ” in 2015 . The California Department of Education , with support from the Sobrato Family Foundation and the Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation , received advice on the recommended policy from over 370 educators during three public meetings . The Roadmap will be available online . For more information , visit the CDE website at https :// goo . gl / QmaA9z .
ACSA encourages administrators to review the proposed regulations and to provide comments to Legislative Advocate Martha Alvarez at malvarez @ acsa . org by Aug . 31 , so they can be incorporated in formal comments . The draft regulations can be found in Item 6 of the July agenda , and accessed at www . cde . ca . gov / be .
Find the latest ACSA legislative news and get involved at www . acsa . org / advocacy .
SBE
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tive schools , she said . CDE will release the alternative schools application in August . In order to be considered for exclusion from the fall 2017 dashboard , schools will be required to submit their application by Oct . 6 . Note that alternative schools identified in the Education Code do not need to apply to obtain this status .
The approved new criteria will :
• Make it harder for charter schools to simply claim alterative school status , but adds seven new definitions for students designated as “ high-risk .” These include students who are credit deficient , have gaps in enrollment , and foster / homeless / emotionally disturbed youth .
• District-operated schools are automatically considered as “ alternative ” if at least 70 percent of students participated in the California Alternative Assessment ( CAA ).
Since Assembly Bill 1661 ( Limon ) to repeal the Academic Performance Index became a two-year bill , the SBE took action to suspend the API for the 2016-17 school year , an action ACSA supported .
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Proposed regional support
Alvarez reports that a portion of the discussion also centered on what the state ’ s system of support for schools and local educational agencies could look like .
“ While CDE presented a proposed regional structure of support as an informational item to seek input from the SBE and members of the public , there were more questions than answers , since few details were provided ,” she said . “ This regional structure does not attempt to define what support local educators find effective , and instead intends to coordinate and align resources and supports . The form and content of specific resources and supports in the regional structure would be informed by feedback from local educators and stakeholders .”
In the proposed regional structure , county offices of education are the primary unit of assistance / support under the Local Control Funding Formula ; the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence would be charged with providing advice and assistance to LEAs statewide in coordination with COEs ; and the California Department of Education would be responsible for implementing and providing oversight for numerous state and federal
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The SBE was presented with emerging themes from meetings of the stakeholder groups and the California Practitioners Advisory Group about the assistance and resources needed to support the system . Those include :
• We know what doesn ’ t work – “ wrong door ” theory .
• Local educators and stakeholders need to define assistance .
• Focus on the root causes and building capacity locally .
• Coordinate support and assistance across participants .
“ The SBE tasked CDE staff to continue soliciting input from the field to better inform the right structure , so that the system of support is embraced by educators and school leaders , instead of seeing it as compliance ,” Alvarez said . “ Since the proposed framework had very few details , board members raised many questions , including who would train the regional county leads , what drives the decisions to know what interventions are needed , and what the roles and responsibilities would be for each of the state agencies tasked to support this work .”
For more information on this proposed structure , see Item 2 on the July agenda at http :// www . cde . ca . gov / be / ag / ag / yr17 / agenda201707 . asp .
ACSA wants to hear from you on what supports you need and who you think is best positioned to support your work . Send your feedback and thoughts to malvarez @ acsa . org .
ESSA state plan
The other major topic of discussion was proposed revisions to the draft Every Student Succeeds Act State Plan , which the SBE is required to submit to the U . S . Department of Education by Sept . 18 .
“ We appreciate that the draft ESSA State Plan embraces the state ’ s new multi-dimensional , holistic and continuous improvement system with multiple measures , and the principles of LCFF as a cornerstone in the development of this plan ,” Alvarez said .
Under the proposed criteria adopted by the SBE to comply with federal accountability requirements , school performance will be based on all applicable state indicators receiving equal weight , with English language arts and mathematics considered two separate indicators in order to provide greater differentiation among schools . Under this methodology , the lowest 5 percent of Title 1 schools will be identified as those with all red state indicators first , then move to all red except one orange , and so on , with no particular weight to any state indicator . The California School Dashboard uses a color coding system , with blue signifying the best results and red the worst .
The SBE also reiterated its interest in linking the identification of the lowestperforming 5 percent of Title 1 schools under ESSA ( at least 298 schools ) to LEAs identified for support under LCFF ( 181 schools preliminarily identified ), using the criteria the SBE adopted at its September 2016 meeting .
“ The board delayed adopting a final methodology until more current data becomes available through the fall 2017 Dashboard release , since this will reflect the LEAs actually identified for support under the state accountability system ,” Alvarez said . “ The SBE will consider a proposed plan supplement at its January 2018 meeting for submission to the U . S . Department of Education that describes the approach for identifying schools beyond the baseline methodology .”
Under LCFF law , LEAs will need to be identified for support in 2017-18 , while ESSA requires schools to be identified for support starting in the 2018-19 school year .
Other key topics that generated lengthy discussion included the adoption of a longterm goal for making progress in each of the state indicators . Per the SBE action , the long-term goal will be set at the “ High ” status mark and “ Maintained ” change mark , with green cells for the required indicators , and all blue cells and green cells to the right of the goal exceeding the goal , and the “ Very High ” and “ Declined ” green cell meeting the goal . The timeline for meeting the longterm goals will be seven years , and LEAs will be able to locally identify their interim goals to make progress towards reaching the statewide target .
Lastly , under the ESSA , states must report on whether disadvantaged students have a higher proportion of ineffective , out-of-field or inexperienced teachers than do their peers . Since California does not currently have a definition for “ ineffective teachers ,” the SBE is required to adopt one . Despite concerns raised by ACSA and other equity and civil right organizations , the SBE adopted a definition favored by the California Teachers Association that will define an “ ineffective teacher ” as one who is improperly assigned or who does not have proper credentials .
Alvarez said , “ We have argued that this definition misses a teacher who is fully credentialed but ineffective in instructional practices , while other advocates suggested the use of absentee rates , but ( SBE ) President Kirst believes there isn ’ t currently enough time or data to use those components .”
Since major decisions will be taking place at the Sept . 13 SBE meeting , ACSA members are encouraged to lend their voices in these important discussions that will impact students ’ education . To sign up to speak at the SBE meeting , or to provide input , contact malvarez @ acsa . org .