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CA Proposition 58 : Multilingual Education Act

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Identifying, servicing, and reclassifying English Learners

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Identifying, servicing, and reclassifying English Learners

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State policies guide the identification, services, and reclassification of ELLs. States have different criteria for identifying ELLS such as language proficiency tests or home languages surveys. They also have policies for  how long they can be reclassified as proficient in English.

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The population of English learners (ELs) in K-12 schools continues to grow. Between the 2009-10 and 2014-15 school years, the percentage of English learners increased in over half of the states, and in 2017, English learners made up 10.1% of the total student population. Research suggests that in their transition to English, non-native speakers fall behind academically, which can intensify the longer a student remains in an English learner program. State education leaders are mindful of this and have implemented policies to identify, serve and reclassify English learners as they become proficient.

This resource provides a national comparison of EL policies in all states. Unless otherwise noted, all information in this resource was gathered from state statutes or regulations and does not include policies in state-level guidance documents or arising from court orders.

Click on the metrics below for 50-State Comparisons showing how all states approach these policies. Or view a specific state's approach by going to the individual state profiles page.
Key Takeaways

States primarily use four methods for funding English learner programs:

Foundation formula (33 states and the District of Columbia).

Resource allocation model (six states).

Grants (six states).

Reimbursements (one state).

To identify English learners, at least 21 states require the administration of a home language survey, while at least 27 states require the use of an English language proficiency screening assessment for students whose primary or home language is not English.

At least 28 states provide for specific qualifications or pre-service and in-service training and professional development for general classroom teachers in statute or regulation.

At least 39 states provide for training, professional development, teaching standards, certification or endorsements for EL-specific teachers in statute or regulation.

At least 24 states explicitly require students to score proficiently on an English language proficiency exam to be reclassified as English proficient.
Some states consider additional metrics, including academic performance, statewide assessments, and teacher observations and recommendations.

50-State Comparisons
Click on the items below to see data for all states
Basics

1. State resource page for English learners

2. Percentage and number of English learners

3. Type of funding

4. Funding per student

Identification

1. How is "English learner" defined in state policy?

2. How does the state identify English learners?

Serving English Learners

1. Which program approaches does state policy authorize?

2. Is parent membership required on EL advisory councils or committees?

3. Can state-funded pre-K programs provide DLL/EL instruction?

4. What EL training or ongoing professional development is required of general classroom teachers?

5. Are EL-only instructors in K-12 required to hold a specialist certification or endorsement?

Reclassification

1. What is the process for EL reclassification?

2. What measures do schools use to reclassify students as "English proficient"?

3. How do states monitor former English learners?

How States Allocate Funding for English Language Learners (blog post)
Dear Colleague Letter: English Learner Students and Limited English Proficient Parents

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50-State Comparison: English Learner Policies - Education Commission of the States

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The population of English learners (ELs) in K-12 schools continues to grow. Between the 2009-10 and 2014-15 school years, the percentage of English learners increased in over half of the states, and in 2017, English learners made up 10.1% of the total student population.

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Being knowledgeable about the educational policy on local, state, and federal levels, can help teachers better advocate for their ELL students.

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Bilingual Education & English as a New Language

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This webinar focuses on the New York State English as a second language achievement test and provides an overview of four steps to determine a school-level rating in ELP.

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Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners

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Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners

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Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

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Allocating Federal Funds for State Programs for English Language Learners

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Read online, download a free PDF, or order a copy in print or as an eBook.

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Initially, American schools value English over other languages, the school systems attempt to promote English proficiency by assimilating minority culture and discriminating against minority race.

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Title VII Bilingual Education act 1968-2002

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Title VII Bilingual Education act 1968-2002

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-providing funding for bilingual education programs
-attempts to address challenges in educating ELLs

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Laws and Regulations that Affect English Learners

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Laws and Regulations that Affect English Learners

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-high-stake testing, no extra support for ELLs
-American schools want to be internationally competitive, significantly increased the federal role in holding schools responsible for the academic progress of all students

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college & career readiness standards for all students
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/issues/education/k-12/race-to-the-top

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Part 154 of the Commissioner's Regulations holds all school districts accountable for identifying and serving English Language Learners (ELLs). Districts are required to adopt a policy on the education of ELLs, plan and provide appropriate services for them, and evaluate and report their academic achievement.

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Court granted protections of after-school community language programs after education authorities tried to put restrictions on Japanese and Chinese heritage language programs.

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Many schools across the country have seen their English learner population swell in recent years as immigration restrictions have eased and war, poverty and political instability continue to drive families from their homes.

Some campuses could see those numbers rise further still: In May, a COVID-era policy known as Title 42, which kept millions of people from seeking asylum in the United States, is set to expire - a development that comes amid a crippling teacher shortage in parts of the nation.

Newcomers' impact on social services, including schools, has long been a talking point for conservative politicians. It's also been posited as a fiscal crisis by New York City's Democratic mayor, Eric Adams, who began busing new arrivals to Canada upon their request: His administration cited their rising numbers as a key factor in this month's across-the-board budget cuts, including to the nation's largest school district.

The White House has taken note of the educational imperative. President Joe Biden, in his March 9 budget address, proposed devoting $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2024 to help these students gain English proficiency - a $305 million increase over the current amount. He's also pushing for an additional $90 million to build multilingual teacher pipelines through Grow-Your-Own initiatives and $10 million for post-secondary fellowships to further bolster the educator pool.

But it's unclear if this new round of funding will meet the needs of one of the fastest-growing student groups in the country. English learners made up 10.4% of total U.S. enrollment in 2019, according to the most recent available federal data, up from 8% in 2000.

To gauge how these students are being served, The 74 reached out to 13 school districts across the country representing hundreds of thousands of English learners requesting information about their numbers and their teachers'.

ESL Student to Teacher Ratio

Responses received over the past several months show dramatic differences in student-teacher ratios ranging from roughly 4:1 in San Diego, 9:1 in the Houston Independent School District and 11:1 in both Chicago and Cypress Fairbanks, which also serves Houston. It's approximately 23:1 in Los Angeles and Las Vegas's Clark County schools, and 30:1 in Baltimore City, though school officials there say it's usually closer to 40:1.

"Most teachers are begging for there to be a cap on classes, but there usually isn't," said Pamela Broussard, a long-time educator who serves new arrivals just outside Houston. The magic number for her, she said, is 15, but the U.S. Department of Education does not regulate this figure, a spokesman said: It's a state and local issue.

A manageable class size, experts and educators say, depends on students' age, English proficiency, level of trauma and the instructional model used to help them, among other factors, including the teacher's own training.

In the classroom

When queried about their experiences by The 74 on a Facebook group for English language instructors, dozens of educators replied, describing a vast array of conditions in the classroom.

Those with caseloads hovering around 20 or 30 generally found their workload manageable while those responsible for 75 or more multilingual learners found it untenable.

Some say they have supportive administrators, make great use of related technology, employ top-notch curriculum and work alongside highly trained peers in a single building - with the help of paraprofessionals.

Others say they are the only such teacher in their district, work across several campuses and struggle with scheduling, plus administrative duties and paperwork. Among the most exasperated are those who have little assistance and serve students of varying age, need and ability.

"No limit for me," wrote one Oklahoma teacher. "I'm personally responsible for around 80 and do paperwork and supervise over an additional 30 to 40."

Jody Nolf, a literacy engagement specialist based in Palm Beach County, Florida, said the appropriate class size depends on whether, for example, students missed years of schooling or were unable to read in their home language - all of which can slow their progress.

"Some teachers do well with 20 to 25," said Nolf, who works with East Coast school districts. Others, she said, barely manage 10 to 15 when students' needs are great.

"Few of us, however, teach in ideal circumstances," he said.

If the primary purpose of English language instruction is for children to make gains in reading, writing, speaking and listening, Houston's Broussard said, students need time to tackle all four tasks.

"Smaller class sizes give children time to talk," said the teacher, whose charges, many of whom hail from Cuba and Venezuela, have lived in the United States for less than six months.

By the numbers

New York City Public Schools reported roughly 150,000 multilingual learners among some 919,000 students in the 2021-22 school year. The figure excludes charters - and the thousands of new arrivals who've enrolled in the past year.

Some 77,000 of these children were identified as newcomers, meaning they had three or fewer years of English language learner status. Roughly 9,500 of the city's teachers had either a bilingual and/or English-as-a-Second-Language credential.

Teachers in bilingual education classes instruct students in two languages while ESL teachers focus on English - as do those labeled English to Speakers of Other Languages.

Georgia's Cobb County serves more than 12,000 multilingual learners - more than 1,300 are newcomers - with 274 ESOL teachers. More than 1,800 other educators have some certification in this area, the district said, but it's not clear how many teach English exclusively to these students.

Baltimore also serves a substantial number of newcomers, defined by that district as those who have been in U.S. schools for less than a year and are at the lowest English proficiency level. More than 1,500 of the district's nearly 9,000 multilingual learners fit this category.

Brevard Public Schools in Florida has 723 such students out of 3,181 multilingual learners. It has 27 English to Speakers of Other Languages teachers to serve them. Seven positions remain vacant. The district also has 55 bilingual assistants - 16 spots remain open.

Students assigned to Clark County's Global Community High School, designed to serve newcomers, enjoy a 10:1 student-teacher ratio: It has just 165 students and 16 teachers. Another 3,792 newcomers are elsewhere in the Las Vegas school district.

While many school systems across the country employ specially designated staff to help immigrant students build their initial inroads to learning, other districts, including Brevard, provide none. Houston ISD has 4,125 newcomer students and no specifically assigned staff to serve their unique needs.

Teacher training

As with class size, there's little agreement regarding what constitutes teacher preparedness, a fact evidenced by vastly different state standards. Some educators who responded to The 74's Facebook queries said they earned their credentialsafter passing a single test - many sought additional training afterward - while others had to complete numerous courses and spend many hours in the classroom working with multilingual learners.

No matter how they win the designation, said Diane Staehr Fenner, founder and president of SupportEd, which aims to provide educators with the skills and resources they need to serve these children, these instructors must understand how language works, use culturally relevant and responsive materials and have expertise in crafting and implementing effective lesson plans.

They must also collaborate effectively with other teachers, design appropriate classroom assessments and know how to interpret the scores their students earn on the state-wide English language proficiency exams that determine whether they are eligible for services.

Staehr Fenner credits the Teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages International Association's P-12 professional teaching standards for the criteria. She said these educators must also protect students' legal rights; they should "really empower multilingual learners and all of the teachers who work with them."

Schools are legally obligated to enroll all children who live within their district boundaries, regardless of immigration status, according to the 1982 Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe. Almost a decade earlier in 1974, the high court ruled in Lau v. Nichols that schools must provide appropriate services to students who do not yet speak English.

But multilingual learnersface ongoing discrimination: Districts across the country have been sued for failing to admit and properly educate these children.

Boston Public Schools has been under court order since 1994 to direct a more equitable share of its federal funding toward this group, but last month a longtime legal monitor said Boston school leaders recently defied requests for the records documenting how it spent the money.

Learning a new language

The goal of providing appropriate services is to move newly arrived and non-English speaking students to the place where they are proficient and can learn in English without additional support.

Tim Boals, founder and director of WIDA at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, said studies show it takes either four to seven or five to seven years for a child to exit ESL services. But there are variations: Some children graduate from such programs in three years, he said. For others, it takes longer.

"Being younger is assumed to be a big advantage, but that's not always the case," he said. "If kids don't come with basic reading skills in their home language, that can slow things down. Arriving in high school can also be hard since kids have only four to five years typically to 'catch up' and accrue credits."

Added time is unlikely in many classrooms as teacher shortages persist: While the English learner population is growing, staff are lagging.

Officials from Baltimore City Schools, who said they travel all over the country looking for staff and also recruit from overseas, hope to hire at least 25 more teachers in the coming months to serve this student group.

The need was so drastic last fall that administrators and other leadership staff went back into the classroom to teach, with some staying on for months.

"Every year has been hard trying to find teachers," said Lara Ohanian, the district's outgoing director of differentiated learning. "After the pandemic, with this national teacher shortage, we have seen even more challenges."

Ohanian said the student teacher ratio varies throughout the year and is more typically 35 or 40:1.

It can be difficult for schools to plan or predict class size as many children arrive long after the academic year begins, said Ferlazzo, of Sacramento, a city that has become home to refugees from all over the world.

"Schools didn't know a Russian invasion of Ukraine would cause an influx of refugees late in the school year," he said. "Or know the Afghan government was going to collapse."

Florida's Duval County Public Schools has 9,597 multilingual learnersand 2,747 teachers to support them: 329 held an English to Speakers of Other Languages K-12 certificate, which requires passing an ESOL K-12 Area test, and much of the remainder had an ESOL endorsement, which demands 300 hours of specialized courses.

The district had 3,199 newcomer students and 77 teachers to support them. The Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation's second largest, has 6,786 in grades 9 through 12 alone - and 19 dedicated staffers at three high schools to help them.

The Paradise Valley School District, which serves students in the Phoenix area, has 2,024 multilingual learners this school year and 69 properly endorsed teachers who teach targeted English language development.

McAllen Independent School District, located on the Texas-Mexico border and long accustomed to serving newcomers, is home to 7,338 English learners and has more than 550 teachers to serve them.

A trio of reactions to new arrivals

The resources allotted to these students might depend on their reception by their school district: In some cases, Sacramento's Ferlazzo said, immigrant students are considered an inconvenience.

"Their needs are not prioritized," he said. "That might result in putting (English learners) into classes with English proficient students with no extra support at all."

Ted Hamann, professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, has long studied children who were educated in both America and Mexico as their families traversed the border.

He said schools and communities faced with a significant uptick in new arrivals react in three ways: through a spirit of welcome, disquiet or xenophobia.

In the first instance, people regard the influx as a positive development, a reflection of their town's attractiveness to newcomers. In the second case, locals note the change with curiosity or uncertainty, but general neutrality.

The last reaction is hostile, in which newcomers are cast as a threat or contaminant.

"What is striking," Hamann said, "is that in most of the communities we work in, we see all three."

On campus, it's up to school leaders to determine which reaction is dominant, he said, adding our duty to educate multilingual learners in this country should hinge on a belief that all children deserve investment, no matter where they come from - or where they are headed.

"We owe in the present to these kids a future that may or may not be geographically local," Hamann said. "What kind of world do we want to live in - where we have reciprocity to each other, or we don't? Can we be generous to each other or is it this desperate struggle for survival?"

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As Schools Brace for More English Learners, How Well Are They Being Served Now

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Many schools across the country have seen their English learner population swell in recent years as immigration restrictions have eased and war, poverty and political instability continue to drive families from their homes.

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Colorín Colorado is a national multimedia project that offers a wealth of bilingual, research-based information, activities, and advice for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs). Colorín Colorado is an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation's capital, and receives major funding from the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association.

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National and state education bodies often set the standards and curriculum guidelines for ELL education. Districts and schools must then align their teaching materials and practices with these standards.

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ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act, 2015):

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ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act, 2015):

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ESSA includes provisions for the education of ELL students, outlining requirements for assessing English proficiency, setting language development goals, and reporting on the progress of ELL students. These provisions reflect the legal framework established by earlier court decisions.

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This case challenged the adequacy of Arizona's programs for ELL students. The court ruled that Arizona had not provided sufficient resources to meet the needs of ELL students, emphasizing the importance of adequate funding for ELL education.

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State funding can greatly impact ELLs education. Funds can be allocated to districts or schools with a higher proportion of ELLs to support specialized programs such as ESL or bilingual education.

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ELLs with special education needs are entitled to both ELL and special education services

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Bilingual Education Act of 1968 (now Title III of ESSA):

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Bilingual Education Act of 1968 (now Title III of ESSA):

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While not a court decision, the Bilingual Education Act (now part of the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA) was influenced by legal and court-related pressures. This legislation provided federal funding to support bilingual and English language acquisition programs in schools serving ELLs.

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On May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. State-sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th amendment and was therefore unconstitutional

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On May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. State-sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th amendment and was therefore unconstitutional

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Does English Language-Learner Classification Help or Hinder Students?

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Does English Language-Learner Classification Help or Hinder Students?

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Designating early elementary students who are close to being proficient in English as English-language learners can have "significant and positive effects on the academic achievement" of the students, new research concludes.

The study concludes that additional support that students receive as English-learners helps foster higher achievement in language arts and mathematics than students who were on the cusp but were identified as initial English-proficient students-and, as a result, did not receive the extra services.

Nami Shin-a research scientist at CRESST, the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards & Student Testing at the University of California, Los Angeles-used results from state mathematics and English language arts exams and grades to examine differences in academic performance between the two groups from kindergarten through 10th grade.

Shin found that the English-learner students performed better on state tests during the early elementary grades, but their advantage shrank as all the students reached middle and high school.

The gap probably narrowed, Shin said, because more than 50 percent of the English-learners in the study were reclassified as English proficient by 5th grade, and were no longer eligible for ELL support services. So, as more students were deemed English-proficient, both groups of students were more likely to receive the same instruction and services.

The findings of Shin's research conflict with 2016 research from Ilana Umansky, an assistant professor in the University of Oregon's College of Education.

Both researchers studied student performance in urban districts in California. But that's where the similarities end.

Umansky found that students on the cusp who were identified as English-learners ended up scoring significantly lower on math and English/language arts tests. Umansky blamed their classification as English-learners, and the diminished teacher expectations and social stigma tied to that status, for the lower test scores.

Shin saw things differently. She argues that the presence of that social stigma motivated ELLs, pushing them to catch up with the initial English-proficient students and native English-speaking peers in order to be reclassified-and drop the ELL label-as soon as possible.

Shin and Umansky both cautioned that the effect of ELL classification found in their studies should be carefully interpreted and generalized. While they both focused their work in California, they studied in different districts, Shin said.

"Even within the same district, the extent to which each program is implemented might differ at school, classroom, and individual student levels," Shin wrote. "Therefore, the effect of the initial classification, is likely to vary across different settings."

Here's a link to an abstract of Shin's study, " The Effects of the Initial English Language Learner Classification on Students' Later Academic Outcomes," and a link to a post about Umansky's study.
Related Stories and Video English-Language-Learner Classification Can Impede Student Growth, Study Finds Pre-K Literacy Key to English-Language Learner Reclassification, Study Finds Does the Term English-Language Learner Carry a Negative Connotation? Photo Credit: Teaching assistant Richard Nolasco listens to Joshua Flores and Ke'mari Barnes during their prekindergarten class at Tulsa's Dual Language Academy. The population of Oklahoma's second-largest school district has shifted dramatically in recent years, with nearly 1 in every 3 students coming from homes where Spanish is the primary language. --Shane Bevel for Education Week

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Does English-Language-Learner Classification Help or Hinder Students?

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Recent research offers conflicting views on a critical topic: How should educators classify ELL students who are on the cusp of English proficiency?

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Lau vs. Nichols: A Landmark Case for ELL Education

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While not specifically about ELLs, this case affirmed that undocumented immigrant children have a right to a free public education. This ruling has had implications for ELL students who may be undocumented or from immigrant families.

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This case established a three-part test to determine whether a school district's program for ELL students is adequate. The test considers whether the program has a legitimate educational purpose, is implemented effectively, and results in meaningful progress for ELL students.

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This landmark Supreme Court case ruled that schools must take affirmative steps to provide ELL students with equal access to educational opportunities. The Court held that failing to provide special assistance to ELL students constitutes a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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The ELL Subject Area Committee recommended development of this report to raise awareness of the unintended consequences resulting from the CR Part 154 changes to education for English language learners.

The report includes an overview; survey results; issues outlined by NYSUT's ELL Subject Committee; committee findings; and committee recommendations for the State Education Department.
DOWNLOADS
Overview

In 2015, the Board of Regents adopted amendments to Part 154 of the Commissioner's Regulations regarding Bilingual Education and English as a New Language (ENL) programs. These amendments imposed significant requirements on school districts and educators regarding the instruction, assessment, program placement, and services for English Language Learners/ Multilingual Learners (ELLs/MLLs). The amendments also mandated new professional learning requirements for educators in the effort to provide English learners with opportunities to achieve the same educational goals and standards established for all students. Though well-intentioned, not all the changes have been beneficial. For the past five years, NYSUT has periodically sought feedback from members on the implications these changes have had on students as well as on teaching and learning in the classroom.

The wording in the regulations allows a broad interpretation. This leads to confusion when decisions are determined by administrators who lack formal training in language acquisition but are working with linguistically-diverse populations. With the added financial burden on districts, there is often an inconsistency in the implementation of the new policies and even "cutting corners" in the attempt to be compliant with the regulations. This trickles down to the classroom and educators who are faced with demands of high-stakes assessments and accountability. The relationship with their ENL colleagues has been negatively affected by fears from testing pressures, and as a result, a true collaborative environment has not been forged. At the student level, ELLs/MLLs at the middle- to higher-levels of English language proficiency lost contact time in Stand-alone ENL classrooms when the units of study were revamped. This directly impacts student achievement as evidenced by NYSESLAT scores, student growth scores and English Language Proficiency (ELP) accountability, ELL/MLL graduation data and dropout rates. It also influences measures of teaching practice for ENL and classroom teachers as part of APPR evaluations.

Survey

In early 2017, NYSUT surveyed 424 members whose primary job title involved teaching bilingual education or English as a New Language (ENL) in K-12 schools. NYSUT asked questions about changes that have come about since the implementation of updates to Part 154 of the Commissioner's Regulations governing how ELLs receive services. The respondents provided a wealth of feedback, both on topics addressed in the survey as well as issues outside the scope of the survey questions.

The respondents teach pre-K-12th grade, are certified in a variety of areas including elementary education, ESOL, and English, and carry different teaching loads ranging from three to 240 ELL students. The average respondent teaches 34 ELL students. More than 70 percent, and in some cases more than 90 percent of the respondents, are responsible for ELLs who are either Entering, Emerging, Transitioning, Expanding, Commanding or Former ELLs. Two-thirds of the respondents are responsible for students at all these proficiency levels.

Two-thirds of the respondents are currently co-teaching. The number of subjects or periods they co-teach per day ranges from one to nine with an average of three. The number of teachers with whom they co-teach ranges from one to 12 but the average respondent co-teaches with three other teachers.

One of the difficulties these respondents seem to be facing is a lack of training on co-teaching ELLs. While two-thirds of the respondents are receiving professional development specifically regarding co-teaching ELLs, one-third are not involved in that type of professional learning. Additionally, approximately half of the respondents say the teacher(s) with whom they are co-teaching have not received co-teaching training.

Further, 64 percent say they are not receiving planning time with their co-teachers and 88 percent say there is not enough planning time for them to cover all the issues they need to cover with their co-teachers.

There are two aspects mentioned as needing improvement: planning time and professional development. Many respondents say they do not have enough planning time in the day. This can be heightened when a teacher needs to coordinate with a co-teacher and there is not enough time available.

Some respondents say ENL teachers are treated as teaching assistants rather than equal partners when content teachers do not understand the role of the ENL teacher.

NYSUT ELL Subject Area Committee

NYSUT convenes an advisory body of ELL educators to provide NYSUT with a practitioner's perspective on the impact of current or proposed state education policies. This ELL Subject Area Committee develops positions and recommends actions that NYSUT should consider related to these policies. Over the past three years, the members of this committee raised these same issues highlighted in the NYSUT Survey as what they are experiencing in their district.

Issues:
1. Integrated ENL
The role of the district and building leaders is pivotal in setting up a thriving co-teaching environment as the arbiters of language acquisition policy and district programming. Without positive administrative leadership and guidance to coordinate consistent messaging across departments, a culture of collaboration with clearly conveyed expectations cannot be established. These individuals play a vital role in providing the necessary supports that undergird a flourishing co-teaching program, such as common planning time, feasible schedules, and much-needed professional learning and preparation.

Schedule. ENL educators are experiencing an inequitable distribution of classes when they are assigned to co-teach Integrated ENL. Some ENL educators are assigned to nine classes per day, compounded by multiple grades, multiple subjects, and multiple co-teaching partners. Within Integrated Collaborative Teaching (ICT) classes that include students with learning disabilities and/or special needs, ENL teachers may have up to seven different grade levels. When ENL teachers are pulled to sub or proctor, it impacts mandated minutes. Case in point, recently arrived ELLs who are eligible for a one-time exemption from taking the Grades 3-8 ELA test or ELLs whose parents chose to opt them out of taking the state tests, are placed in a separate room on testing days but don't receive services. They are just left to "sit & stare."

Planning. Another overwhelming issue of the ENL teacher's schedule is the lack of adequate planning time to attain the depth and breadth of collaboration that is necessary for a full instructional partnership. This relationship begins with the announcement of the upcoming integrated co-teaching assignment and continues over the summer and throughout the year. Teachers who co-teach require regular time for collaboration if the partnership is to be successful. Districts grossly underestimate the amount of preparation, communication, common planning time and ongoing professional learning required to establish and maintain an effective co-teaching partnership. It is critical that time for planning together be built into the school day. Planning time for co-teaching partners must supplement, not supplant, individual personal planning provided to teachers.

Collaborative working environment. Assigning two certified teachers to the same class without providing them adequate time to create and develop a strong foundation upon which to build a co-teaching partnership is doomed to failure. What it ends up being in that case is an ENL teacher who pushes into a content classroom while the general education teacher leads. Instead of a true co-teaching situation, collaboration is only at face value which is much to the detriment of both English language and academic achievement. The ENL teacher is frequently relegated to a peripheral role of supporting the academic teacher with a diminished professional stature in the eyes of both students and colleagues. In the end, neither teacher's skills nor expertise has been tapped for the benefit of the students.

Training. The importance of professional learning cannot be stressed enough. Nor can the participation of all the educators involved in the many facets of co-teaching. This includes school leaders who are needed to develop the budget, schedule teachers, and nurture a supportive environment. It is expected that ENL teachers will need additional training in the subject areas, while content area teachers will benefit from professional learning related to language acquisition and instructional strategies that best fit the needs of ELLs. Co-teachers should understand how to explicitly integrate concepts with academic language (key vocabulary, grammar and discourse) to support content-area tasks. They should also be able to design lessons that make content comprehensible while facilitating language acquisition that support ELLs of varying proficiency levels and previous educational experience to access the content. Co-teachers also need professional learning in the different models of co-teaching, the practice of developing a positive co-teaching partnership with agreed upon co-planning norms, a shared vision for instruction, and an equitable division of the responsibilities. But it shouldn't stop there. Training should continue throughout the year and focus on strengthening the co-teaching relationship by building in intentional reflection, effective communication, and thoughtful planning. These skills will equip co-teaching pairs to rise above the pitfalls and challenge one another to take the level of instruction to a higher level where all students thrive.

2. ENL Units of Study
While we recognize that Stand-alone time cannot be the only service model, dedicated Stand-alone time in conjunction with Integrated ENL/ELA is crucial for additional attention to language instruction. In the updated CR Part 154-2 regulations, Stand-alone ENL time has been replaced by integrated ENL for some ELLs/MLLs. But we know that one shouldn't replace another since Stand-alone ENL provides much-needed time for direct, explicit instruction, reteaching, content-based language instruction embedded in context, as well as the opportunity for oral and written practice. Expanding and Transitioning students suffer the most without contact time with ENL teachers in Stand-alone classes. Unable to get the full range of language services they need, they are poised to fail to make adequate progress and meet the state threshold, which will have repercussions on districts in which ELLs/MLLs have not attained the expected proficiency indicator.

By providing Transitioning students an additional ½ unit of study of Stand-alone time, ½ unit of study in Integrated ENL/ELA and Expanding students ½ unit of study of Stand-alone time, they would gain additional time to focus on language acquisition needs in a smaller class with similar students centered on their needs and delivered by a certified ENL specialist.
3. APPR issues for ENL and Classroom teachers
In the article, Co-Teaching: Making it Work (Educational Leadership, 2015/2016), Wendy Murawski and Philip Berhardt state that many education leaders who conduct teacher evaluations for APPR have never had the personal experience of co-teaching themselves. In order to conduct fair observations, they must possess the understanding of co-teaching principles and strategies in addition to knowledge of second language acquisition and effective teaching practices for English language learners. Observers should be trained to look and listen for evidence of co-instructing and co-assessing, student engagement, and access to content through language. However, these elements will only be present if provided common planning time and enough training have been provided, and the conditions for a collaborative culture have been established.

What Have We Learned?

While ELL graduation rates are slowly rising, the data is still far from where it should be in the effort to close the achievement gap between current ELLs and their native English-speaking peers. If CR Part 154 regulations were implemented with fidelity across the state, imagine the results we would have.

While we understand that it is impossible to anticipate the ramifications that might arise from initial changes, it behooves the New York State Education Department to be realistic, vigilant and responsive to the field. It is important to recognize that mandates are often created from a separate lens and lack insight into the daily practices of instruction. Similar to the debacle of the Common Core State Standards roll out, the introduction of the changes made to the CR Part 154 regulations and the roll out of Integrated Co-teaching did not provide sufficient time, attention, and preparation for the administrators and teachers involved in its implementation.

What process is in place to review the efficacy of changes that are made? How have the changes affected the landscape of ELL instruction across the state? What unintended consequences are arising as a result of the changes? What method of communication has been established to get a pulse from the field and correct the unanticipated problems?

Co-Teaching Infographic

CLICK FOR LARGER VIEW: JPG | PDF

Recommendations for NYSED

Publish a guidance document directed to district/school leaders that lays out the steps to establish a successful integrated instruction program. Include the following advice:

Create manageable co-teaching schedules by controlling the number of different co-teaching assignments (grade levels and content areas) and co-teaching partners for ESOL specialists.

Be thoughtful in pairing co-teachers and schedule time for co-planning.

Establish a supportive working environment for co-teachers to engage in a meaningful and productive collaboration that leads to a shared dialogue and responsibility for all students.

Allow successful co-teaching partners to remain together.

Provide ongoing joint training on the implementation of co-teaching for co-teaching pairs that includes content on teaching academic content and on teaching ELLs, the different models of co-teaching, the observation of effective co-teaching, and giving and receiving effective feedback.

Observe ENL teachers for purposes of APPR in Stand-alone classes they teach or co-teaching classes only when they have been provided dedicated, weekly planning time of a minimum of one period a week.

Mandate that every co-teaching partnership should receive at least one designated co-planning period per week.

Showcase districts and schools from around the state that are exemplary role models of co-teaching. Share what they are doing and open the opportunity for educators to do site visits and learn from them.

Create a repository of co-teaching lesson plans in a variety of grades and subject areas.

Adjust the mandate so Transitioning students have an additional 1 full unit of study (½ unit Stand-alone ENL, 1 unit Integrated ENL/ELA, and ½ unit of study that can be Stand-alone ENL OR Integrated ENL/Core Content Area) for a total of 2 units of study per week or 360 minutes and Expanding students have an additional ½ unit of study of Stand-alone time (½ unit Stand-alone ENL and 1 unit Integrated ENL/Core Content Area) for a total of 1 ½ units of study per week or 270 minutes.

Special Thanks

NYSUT has an advisory body of ELL educators to provide NYSUT with a practitioner's perspective on the impact of current or proposed state education policies. The ELL Subject Area Committee recommended development of this report to raise awareness of the unintended consequences resulting from the CR Part 154 changes on ELL education. Special thanks to committee members:

Monica Baker, Webutuck Teachers Association

Sharon Eghigian, Utica Teachers Association

Jeanne Ismail, Yonkers FT

Kerry Read, Syracuse Teachers Association, Inc.

Alison Doughtie, Mohawk Valley Community College Professional Association

Katie Kurjakovic, UFT (Subject Area Committee Chair, 2017-20)

Charles Lauth, Vestal TA

Luci Legotti, Great Neck TA

Stephanie Linders, Guilderland Central Teachers Association

Katie Lobato, Walkill TA

Rosemarie LoMonaco, UFT

Miriam Quiles, UFT

Xiomara Roman, Hempstead CTA

Trisha Rosokoff, Buffalo Teachers Federation

Tracy Sanchez, Elmsford Teachers Association

Areli Schermerhorn, Syracuse Teachers Association, Inc.

Regina Tomlinson, Newburgh Teachers Association

August 2020

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A Look at the Ramifications of Part 154 Changes to ELL Education

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The ELL Subject Area Committee recommended development of this report to raise awareness of the unintended consequences resulting from the CR Part 154 changes on ELL education.

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The Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA) of 1974 prohibits discrimination against students. It also requires school districts and states' departments of education to take action to ensure equal participation for everyone, including removing language barriers for ELL students.

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The Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA) of 1974 prohibits discrimination against students. It also requires school districts and states' departments of education to take action to ensure equal participation for everyone, including removing language barriers for ELL students.

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This video explains the rights of limited English proficient (LEP) individuals under Title VI of the Civil Right Act of 1964 and its implementing regulations; and the requirements of federal agencies under Executive Order 13166 to provide language access to their programs and activities.

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Breaking Down the Barriers: Translating Limited English Proficiency Policy into Practice

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This video explains the rights of limited English proficient (LEP) individuals under Title VI of the Civil Right Act of 1964 and its implementing regulations; and the requirements of federal agencies under Executive Order 13166 to provide language access to their programs and activities.

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Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment):

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Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment):

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Courts have upheld the principle that ELL students, like all students, are entitled to equal protection under the law. This means that schools must provide ELL students with equal educational opportunities and access to programs and services.

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The U.S. Supreme Court's decision led to the creation of the Lau Plan, guidelines school districts can use to provide instruction to ELLs and ensure that they have equal access to education.

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The U.S. Supreme Court's decision led to the creation of the Lau Plan, guidelines school districts can use to provide instruction to ELLs and ensure that they have equal access to education.

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Accessible policies provides guidance for families and educators to ensure the best strategies are in place to support ELLs. It can promote parents to communicate and advocate.

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Mandated use of supplemental materials in the classroom.

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State regulations ensure that all professionals supporting and working with ELLs are certified. Professional development ensures that we can support the students the best way we can.

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Using realia to build background knowledge

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Team meetings: Looking at lessons from the eyes of an ELL

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How can educators use their understanding of the policy and legislative context surrounding ELL education to enhance their ELLs’ access to educational opportunities?

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How have the courts influenced the education of ELLs?

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How do national state-led consortia and individual state policies and initiatives influence the education of ELLs on the local district and school levels?

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How has the policy context surrounding the education of ELLs changed in the United States?