Pupils: English learners: assessment.

Existing law requires each school district that has one or more pupils who are English learners to assess the English language development of each of those pupils in order to determine the level of proficiency of those pupils. The assessment primarily consists of the administration of the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) that assesses pupils in grades 2 to 12, inclusive, in English listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, and pupils in kindergarten and grade 1 in English listening and speaking. Existing law requires that the assessment be conducted upon initial enrollment, and annually thereafter during a period of time determined by the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education, until the pupil is redesignated as English proficient. This bill would require a school district to annually conduct the assessment during a period that commences on the day upon which 55% of the instructional year is completed through July 1 of that calender year and would require the assessment to be conducted upon the initial enrollment of a pupil in order to provide information to be used to determine if the pupil is an English learner. These changes would not be implemented unless and until the State Department of Education receives written documentation from the United States Department of Education that implementation is permitted by federal law or until the 2013–14 school year, whichever occurs later. The bill would apply these provisions, to the extent required by federal law, to a county office of education and a charter school, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. This bill would prohibit a pupil in any of grades 3 to 12, inclusive, from being required to retake those portions of the CELDT that measure English language skills for which he or she has previously tested as advanced within the appropriate grade span, as determined by the State Department of Education in accordance with specified law. Notwithstanding the above prohibition, the bill also would prohibit a pupil in any of grades 10 to 12, inclusive, from being required to retake those portions of the CELDT that measure English language skills for which he or she has previously tested as early advanced or advanced. These prohibitions would not be implemented until the CELDT publisher's contract that is in effect on January 1, 2012, expires and unless and until the department receives written documentation from the United States Department of Education that implementation is permitted by federal law. 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.