New Guidance for Identification of English Learners (EL) and Qualified Non-EL Bilingual Students

By Kathy Dunn, Director of Professional Learning for State and Federal Programs, CCOSA, Daniel Ruhl, Executive Director of English Language Proficiency, OSDE, and Taylor Tribble, President, Eduskills

Did you know that English Learners and Non-EL Bilingual Students receive the .25 Bilingual Weight in the State Aid formula, which adds approximately $880 per qualified student?

In addition to the Bilingual Weight in the State Aid formula, English Learners also generate a Title III allocation of approximately $100 per pupil, and Immigrant students may generate an additional approximately $200 per pupil*.

Who are My English Learners, Non-EL Bilinguals, and Immigrants?

■ English Leaner: A student who did not demonstrate English language proficiency when administered a WIDA or state screening tool and has yet to demonstrate English language proficiency via the annually administered English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA).

■ Non-EL Bilingual: A student determined to be initially English language proficient through participation in the WIDA K Screener or Screener, or subsequently through participation in the ACCESS or Alternate ACCESS assessments, but who meets the criteria necessary (explained below) to generate Bilingual funding through the State Aid equalization formula.

■ Immigrants:

■ The immigrant student is between the ages of 3 and 21;

■ The immigrant student was not born in any of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;

■ The immigrant student has not been enrolled in a US school for more than three years.

Identifying Both English Learners and Non-EL Bilinguals in the Student Information System to generate the .25 Bilingual Weight in the State Aid formula.

A student’s status as an English Learner or a Non-EL Bilingual Student must be coded within your district’s Student Information System. The WAVE pulls the EL/ Bilingual status from your district’s Student Information System to be used in the State Aid funding formula.

■ Students enrolling within the first thirty calendar days of the start of school must have their English Proficiency Code determined within those thirty days. Students enrolling after the first thirty calendar days of school must have their English Proficiency Code determined within fourteen calendar days of their enrollment.

■ The best resource to review a student’s EL-specific assessment and identification history is the Accountability Reporting application housed in Single Sign On.

NEW! Home Language Survey (HLS) for 2021-2022

The first step in identifying a districts’ English Learners and Non-EL Bilingual Students is dependent on collecting and keeping on file a Home Language Survey (HLS) form for every student in the district. It is no longer required to collect a new form for every student every year, but it is a requirement to have on file an HLS signed by the parents for every student enrolled in the district. All students must complete an HLS:

■ During their initial enrollment with a district, or

■ When they re-enroll in a former district after an absence of more than one year

■ An LEA must have a completed HLS on file or have the ability to generate a digital HLS with all required information, for EVERY STUDENT.

■ Conflicting (e.g., “all English”) HLS responses submitted after a student has been identified as an English Learner have no bearing on that student’s EL status.

■ The New HLS form for 2021-2022 must be used for all new enrollees in FY22. New Guidance as of September 2021: If the HLS form for 2020-2021 has already been obtained through enrollment packets, the new HLS form for FY22 may be used with new enrollees as we move though the school year.

What else is NEW for the 2021-2022 School Year?

The new “Less Often” Non-EL Bilingual Qualification Form is a re-formatting of the previous Home Language Survey score reporting section. A completed form will be required in the annual Bilingual Audit to qualify a “less often” Non-EL Bilingual students who:

1. Tested proficient on the WIDA assessment; AND

2. Tested below Proficient on one of the following assessments:

■ SAT: Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score at or below the 35th percentile in the Nationally Representative Sample

■ ACT: Current year qualifying Reading scale score will be determined annually in collaboration with ACT

■ Pre-kindergarten NRT:

■ Acadience Reading Pre-K (PELI): A score at or below the 115 composite level

■ Istation: A score in either the Tier 2 or Tier 3 level

■ NWEA MAP Reading Fluency assessment: A Level 0 score on the Foundational Skills component

■ Grades K-12 NRT: A score at or below the 35th percentile (or equivalent) on any assessment or reading subtest noted on the Norm- Referenced Tests Approved for “Less Often” Non-EL Bilingual Qualification) guidance document (See next page).

Pre-Kindergarten EL/Non-EL Bilingual Qualification Process

If a student is being served prior to kindergarten, the parent or guardian is required to submit a completed a Home Language Survey (HLS). The student should be administered the Oklahoma Pre-K Screening Tool (PKST) if a language other than English is submitted on any one of the three primary language questions (home language, dominant language, and first language learned). Similar to a student enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade, the submission of a language other than English for any one of these questions means the student is considered “less often,” and the submission of a language other than English for two or more of the questions above means the student is considered “more often.”

Based on the student’s submitted HLS responses and subsequent PKST score, the LEA should proceed as follows:

■ If a pre-K student meeting either “less often” or “more often” status does not demonstrate English language proficiency (six or fewer correct responses) when administered the PKST, the student should be assigned 2349/ EL/Limited English Proficient status.

■ If a pre-K student with “more often” status demonstrates proficiency (seven or more correct responses) when assessing with the PKST, the student should be assigned 1634/Fluent English Speaker status.

■ If a pre-K student with “less often” status demonstrates proficiency (seven or more correct responses) when assessing with the PKST, the LEA may either:

1. Assign the student 1633/Native English Speaker status.

2. Assign the student 1634/Fluent English Speaker if the student achieves a fall semester score that meets the qualifying criteria on one of the approved pre-K assessments below:

A. Acadience Reading Pre-K (PELI): A score at or below the 115 composite level

B. Istation: A score in either the Tier 2 or Tier 3 level

C. NWEA MAP Reading Fluency assessment: A Level 0 score on the Foundational Skills component

A student administered the PKST at the pre-K level, regardless of the level of proficiency demonstrated on the assessment, must be re-assessed with the WIDA Kindergarten Screener at the outset of their kindergarten year.

The assessments detailed below are approved for use when qualifying a “less often” student for Non-EL Bilingual status. Note that regardless of the “more often” or “less often” status of the student (determined by the current Home Language Survey responses), a student assigned Non-EL Bilingual status must first demonstrate English language proficiency, either through the initial administration of the WIDA Screener or through subsequent participation in the WIDA ACCESS or Alternate ACCESS assessments.

NORM-REFERENCED TESTS APPROVED FOR “LESS OFTEN” NON-EL BILINGUAL QUALIFICATION

Where Do I Find More Information on the Process for Identifying English Learners and Non-El Bilinguals for our October 1 Student Counts?

The following resources for understanding the identification of English Learners and NonEL Bilinguals are available for reference on these Oklahoma State Department of Education websites:

■ EL and Non-EL Bilingual Process Guidance: Guidance document detailing the state EL identification process and conditions necessary to qualify a student as Non-EL Bilingual (not EL, but still generating a Bilingual allocation through the State Aid funding formula). The document includes an updated EL identification and language coding flow chart for LEA reference.

■ EL and Non-EL Bilingual Process Guidance Webinar: Webinar discussing the state EL identification process, updates to the state Home Language Survey, the addition of the “Less Often” Non-EL Bilingual Qualification Form, and an EL identification scenario walkthrough.

■ Home Language Survey: Updated version of state Home Language Survey mandated for all new enrollments beginning in the 2021-2022 school year.

■ “Less Often” Non-EL Bilingual Qualification Form: New form that will be required in the LEA Bilingual Audit in cases where a student is both “less often” and assigned Non-EL Bilingual status.

■ Approved “Less Often” Norm-Referenced Tests: Guidance document detailing those assessments approved for the purposes of “less often” Non- EL Bilingual qualification.

■ English Proficiency Coding and the Accountability Reporting Application: Guidance document detailing the steps in correctly determining a student’s appropriate English Proficiency Code using the Accountability Reporting application.

For any additional assistance or clarification regarding this matter, please contact Dan Ruhl at Daniel.ruhl@sde.ok.gov or (405) 522-1220. ■

For supporting information, view the full article on page 18 of Better Schools Magazine.