1. Quarterly Updates from PDE
Presented by the Pennsylvania Department of Education

2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 What we’re going to cover: AMAO Reporting
Foreign Exchange Students 3
Parent Refusal of Services 4
Updates on the BEC 5
2016/17 Reclassification Criteria 6
2017/18 Reclassification Criteria 7
Identification Criteria 8
PD Offerings

3. AMAO Reporting
The PDE will not be providing AMAO reports for 2014/15 or 2015/2016.
Federal law no longer requires that these reports be produced.
The calculations have several limitations that do not make them ideal for use in program evaluation.
The new EL indicator calculations for growth toward and attainment of proficiency will be released in the summer and will go into effect after approval from USED in the school year.

4. AMAO Reporting
The new calculations will account for an EL’s age/grade and initial proficiency level.
ELs will be given a maximum of six years to attain proficiency depending on their initial proficiency level.
Interim growth targets will be based on prior gains and how much growth is needed to attain proficiency by the target year.

5. AMAO Reporting

6. Foreign Exchange Students
In the past, foreign exchange students were not identified or counted as ELs.
USED released a guidance memo in December of 2010 to the Maine DOE stating that foreign exchange students must be identified as ELs the same way that other students are and, if determined to be ELs,:
receive the same supports and accommodations as all other ELs,
be administered the ACCESS test annually, and
be counted with other ELs in all district accountability calculations
This information has been updated on the ESL Portal and will be reflected in the new BEC.

7. Parent Refusal of Services
The federal government released what is known as a “Dear Colleague” letter on Jan 7th, 2015 which outlined districts’ responsibilities for meeting the needs of EL students.
The letter can be found at
Section G of the letter explains the requirements for “meeting the needs of EL students who opt out of EL programs or particular EL services”.
In the first paragraph, it states:
Although school districts have an obligation to serve all EL students, parents have a right to decline or opt their children out of a school district’s EL program or out of particular EL services.

8. Parent Refusal of Services
A parent’s decision to opt their child out of a formal ELD program must be informed and voluntary.
A district may not recommend that a parent decline programming or make any scheduling or placements contingent on a parent declining programming.
The district must provide a detailed description of the ELD program and services to the parent in a language or through a mode of communication that they understand.
Districts must:
Adequately document the process.
Documentation must demonstrate that the decision was informed and voluntary. This should include:
The results of the ELD screening, the rationale for the identification, and the child’s English language needs that were provided to the parent(s);
The program description that was provided to the parent(s) (or a dated summary of the description if it was explained to them verbally) including the various components of the program, its benefits, and an explanation and evidence of its effectiveness; and
A checklist and/or form signed by the parent(s) that demonstrates that they understand the benefits of the ELD program and that they have willingly decided to opt their child out of part or all of it.

9. Parent Refusal of Services
Even though a student may be opted out of the formal, specialized ELD program, the district is not released from its obligation to take steps required by Title VI and the “appropriate action” required by the EEOA to provide these EL students access to its educational programs.
Districts must:
Monitor the opted out student periodically and notify the parent if he/she begins to struggle.
Offer the parents of struggling opted out ELs further opportunities to enroll their child in the ELD program.
Document the monitoring and parent notifications for the above.
Ensure that opted out students’ needs are met in the general education classroom. This can be accomplished in several ways including:
Providing adequate training in second language acquisition and ESL strategies for general education teachers.
Making it possible for the ESL teacher and the general education teacher to consult with each other or co-plan.
Assess the student using the ACCESS for ELLs® each year until he/she attains proficiency and is exited.
Report the student to the state as an EL.

10. Parent Refusal of Services
Title III Supplemental Services
Opt-out: YES
Title III supplemental programs and/or services are provided using Title III funding,
should the LEA choose to apply for a Title III subgrant from the state. These
programs and services may only supplement, not supplant, programs and services
required by federal or state policy/law. Parents have the right to have their
children removed from Title III programs
Distinct ESL/bilingual education program
Opt-out: YES
These programs/services are specialize and provided only to ELs. They
include ESL pull-out, after school ESL tutoring, ESL courses, and bilingual
education. Parents may refuse any of these programs/services.
ESL accommodations in all classrooms
Opt-out: NO
Employing instructional strategies to overcome language barriers in
order to ensure equal access for ELLs in all classrooms is required
by various federal laws and regulations. Parents may not release
the district from this obligation, for there is essentially nothing
for parents to opt their students out of other than an education
equal to that which other students receive.

11. Parent Refusal of Services
To assist districts with executing these requirements, PDE has developed the following documents, which will be posted to the SAS Portal ESL Professional Learning Community. Please join the community or the department for a copy.
A policy document summarizing these requirements
A parent refusal form with the necessary acknowledgements
These forms have not yet been translated into any other languages, but PDE plans to make translated versions available as soon as possible.
Districts may use the refusal form from PDE or develop their own. If a district develops its own form, it must include the same acknowledgements.

12. Updates on the BEC The BEC is in the final draft stage now.
It has been reviewed by the development and stakeholder committees several times and is ready for PDE internal legal review and final approval.
The BEC outlines requirements related to the education of ELs in broad language. The topics covered are:
IDENTIFICATION AND PLACEMENT OF ELs
THE LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM (LIEP)
RECLASSIFICATION, MONITORING, AND REDESIGNATION OF ELs
EDUCATORS OF ELs
PARENT, FAMILY, AND COMMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
ELs SUSPECTED OF OR HAVING A DISABILITY
TITLE III SUBGGRANTS AND REQUIREMENTS
DATA COLLECTION AND REPPORTING REQUIREMENTS
These sections of the BEC link to outside policy documents that contain specific information, procedures, and criteria.
The BEC will be approved and published and will take effect on July 1, 2017.

13. 2016/17 Reclassification Criteria
ESSA forbids measures of academic achievement (tests/grades) from being used in reclassification decisions.
The new reclassification criteria will not take effect until the school year
For the school year (including students who will be reclassified through the end of September, 2017), there are two required interim reclassification criteria.
ACCESS Overall Composite Proficiency Level score of 5.0
AND
Teacher (ESL or two content teachers) recommendation using a simple rubric that determines if an EL is on-par with English proficient/non-EL peers in the four language domains OR
Writing sample that demonstrates proficiency at the Expanding level and speaking at the Bridging level as measured using the WIDA writing and speaking rubrics scored by an ESL teacher

14. 2017-2018 Reclassification Criteria
The reclassification policy and criteria document is in the final draft stage.
The new criteria will use the ACCESS score along with teacher recommendations to reclassify students
It has been reviewed by the development and stakeholder committees through multiple iterations and is currently being field tested in several districts to ensure reliability and accuracy.
What drove the design?
Partly in response to a desire by educators to have a more significant role in the decision to “exit” students from the LIEP
Need to standardize teacher input to some degree
ESSA forbids measures of academic achievement (tests/grades) from being used in reclassification decisions
The use of a single summative assessment score to make high-stakes decisions (such as reclassification) is unsound

15. 2017-2018 Reclassification Criteria
Benefits
Research suggests teacher input has the potential to reduce both premature and late reclassification decisions (false positives and negatives)
Will help to promote responsibility for language development among all teaching staff
Will promote communication/collaboration between ESL and content area staff
Potential Challenges
Will require training and monitoring to ensure reliability
Potentially subjective in spite of standardized rubrics and training
Presents potential for additional “step” for teachers at the end of the school year
May be difficult to manage centrally for districts with large EL populations and in which a high level of central management is desired

16. 2017-2018 Reclassification Criteria
Provision for reclassification of ELs with disabilities
An EL with a disability may be considered for reclassification if:
The student has an IEP, AND
The student has been continuously enrolled in an ESL/bilingual education program for at least four years, AND
The student’s overall composite proficiency level score on the ACCESS for ELLs® has not increased by more than 10% at any point or total over the three most recent testing cycles, AND
The IEP team, with input from an ESL/bilingual education professional, recommends reclassification.
ELs with Disabilities (taking the Alternate ACCESS for ELLS®)
ELs who are eligible for and take the Alternate ACCESS for ELLs® may be considered for reclassification when:
they achieve a score of at least P2 on two consecutive administrations of the test, AND
the IEP team, with input from an ESL/bilingual education professional, recommends reclassification.

17. Identification Criteria
The new identification procedure/criteria document is in the final draft stage
It is formatted as a checklist and includes:
HLS
Parent interview
Academic records review
Screening cutoffs
SLIFE identification
Parent notification and right to refuse services
Procedure flowchart
There is also a separate identification procedure for pre-K ELs

18. Identification Criteria
Screening cutoffs
Screener
Criteria for identification as an EL
Kindergarten
KW-APT
Raw score for oral language of 19 or lower OR
Between inclusive AND reading and writing score of 11 or lower
See kindergarten identification and placement process flowchart in Appendix B
K MODEL
1st semester K: Assess all 4 domains
Oral language composite below 5.0 (Use literacy scores for instructional plans)
2nd semester K: Assess all 4 domains
Overall composite proficiency level below 5.0
AND
Literacy Composite below 4.3
1-12
WIDA Screener
MODEL Screener

19. Professional Development Offerings To register, click on the session title
May 25, 2017 Differentiation for Linguistically Diverse Students May 30 – 31, 2017 Purposeful Lesson Planning for Language Learners June 14, 2017 ESSA and English Learners: Updated State Guidance and Procedures June 20, 2017 Special Education and English Language Learner (SpELL) Equity

20. Leading Pennsylvania Schools for English Learner Achievement
Professional Development Offerings
SAVE THE DATE
July 11-13, 2017
Leading Pennsylvania Schools for English Learner Achievement
Target audience is Administrators, Directors of Student Services, and ESL Coordinators

21. DATA Offerings To register, click on the session title
June 1, 2017 PIMS Collection #4: LEP Program Survey and ELL End of Year Student Counts Internal Snapshot Training (AM) June 1, 2017 PIMS Collection #4: LEP Program Survey and ELL End of Year Student Counts Internal Snapshot Training (PM)

22. Title III Offering To register, click on the session title
June 13, 2017 ESSA and Title III: Prioritizing Excellence and Equity for English Learners To register, click on the title of the offering.

23. Q & A