A. Definitions. All terms defined in A.R.S.
§
15-751 are
applicable, with the following additions:
1.
"Statewide assessment" means the test prescribed by A.R.S. §
15-741 or an
assessment approved by the Board pursuant to A.R.S. §
15-741.02
to administer to students instead of the statewide assessment.
2. "Arizona Academic Standards" means the
standards adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to A.R.S.
§§
15-203,
15-701,
and
15-701.01.
3. "Board" means the State Board of
Education.
4. "Compensatory
instruction" means instruction given in addition to regular classroom
instruction, such as individual or small group instruction, extended day
classes, summer school or intersession school.
5. "Department" means the Department of
Education.
6. "EL" means English
learner.
7. "FEP" means fluent
English language proficient, a student who has met the requirements for exit
from an English language learner program.
8. "Federal EL grant monies" means federal
grants or funds awarded to an LEA to educate ELs or to improve the LEA's
capacity to educate ELs, including but not limited to grants awarded under
Title III of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015.
9. "IEP" means individualized education
program, a written statement specifying special education services to be
provided to a child with a disability.
10. "LEA" means local education agency, the
school district or charter school that provides educational services.
11. "PHLOTE" means primary or home language
other than English.
12.
"Reassessment for reclassification" means the process of determining whether an
English language learner may be reclassified as fluent English proficient
(FEP).
13. "Superintendent" means
the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
14. "WICP" means written individualized
compensatory plan that documents the scope and type of services provided to an
EL to overcome the identified language and academic deficiencies.
B. Identification of students to
be assessed.
1. The primary or home language
of all students shall be identified by the students' parent or legal guardian
on the home language survey. These documents shall inform parents that the
responses to these questions will determine whether their student will be
assessed for English language proficiency.
2. A student shall be considered as a PHLOTE
student if the home language survey indicates that one or more of the following
are true:
a. The primary language used in the
home is a language other than English, regardless of the language spoken by the
student.
b. The language most often
spoken by the student is a language other than English.
c. The student's first acquired language is a
language other than English.
3. The English language proficiency of all
PHLOTE students shall be assessed as provided in subsection (C).
C. English language proficiency
assessment.
1. PHLOTE students in kindergarten
shall be administered an English language proficiency test. Students in grades
one through twelve shall be administered an English language proficiency test.
Students who score below the designated score for fluent English language
proficiency, adopted by the Department and based on the test publishers'
designated scores, shall be classified as ELs.
2. PHLOTE students in grades 2-12
shall be administered the oral, reading and writing English language
proficiency tests approved by the Board. Students who score below the
publisher's designated score for fluent English proficiency, or such other
score based on the publisher's designated score, that is adopted by the Board,
shall be classified as ELLs. PHLOTE students in grades 2-12 who have scored at
or above the 40th percentile on the English reading comprehension subtest of
the nationally standardized norm-referenced achievement test adopted pursuant
to A.R.S. §
15-741 or
who have met or exceeded the standards on the reading and writing portions of
the AIMS test are exempt from taking the oral, reading, and writing English
language proficiency tests and shall not be classified as ELLs.
3.
2. English language proficiency assessments shall be
conducted by individuals who are proficient in English and trained in language
proficiency testing to administer and, when applicable, score the
tests.
4.
3. The LEA shall assess the English language
proficiency of all new PHLOTE students as prescribed above within 60 days of
the beginning of the school year or within 30 school days of a student's
enrollment in school, whichever is later, unless the LEA receives funds under
Title III of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 or another federal grant
that requires assessment and parental notification within 30 calendar days from
the start of the school year or within two calendar weeks of a student
enrolling at a school.
D.
Assessment of students in special education or in
the special education referral process. If a multidisciplinary evaluation or
IEP team finds the procedures prescribed in subsections (B) and (C)
inappropriate for a particular special education student, the LEA shall employ
alternate procedures for identifying such students or assessing their English
language proficiency. Persons conducting the English language assessment shall
participate with the special education multidisciplinary evaluation or IEP team
in the determination of the student's English language proficiency
designation.
E.
D. Screening and assessment of students in gifted
education. ELs who meet the qualifications for placement in a gifted
educational program shall receive programmatic services designed to develop
their specific areas of potential and academic ability and may be concurrently
enrolled in gifted programs and English language learner programs.
F.
E.
English language learner programs.
1. All ELs
shall be provided daily instruction in English language development appropriate
to their level of English language proficiency and consistent with A.R.S.
§§
15-751,
15-752,
and, as applicable, 15-753. The English language instruction shall include
listening and speaking skills, reading and writing skills, and cognitive and
academic development in English.
2.
ELs shall be provided daily instruction in subject areas required under the
minimum course of study adopted by the Board pursuant to
R7-2-301
and
R7-2-302
that is understandable and appropriate to the level of academic achievement of
the EL and is in conformity with accepted strategies for teaching ELs. This
subsection does not require an LEA to provide daily instruction in every
subject area required pursuant to
R7-2-301
and R7-2-302 if those subject areas are not provided daily to English
proficient students.
3. The
curriculum of all English language learner programs shall incorporate the
Academic Standards adopted by the Board and shall be comparable in amount,
scope and quality to that provided to English language proficient
students.
4. ELs who are not
progressing toward achieving proficiency of the Arizona Academic Standards
adopted by the Board, as evidenced by the failure to improve scores on the
statewide assessment, shall be provided compensatory instruction to assist them
in achieving those Arizona Academic Standards. A WICP describing the
compensatory instruction provided shall be kept in the student's academic
file.
5. On request of a parent or
legal guardian of an EL the principal of the EL's school shall require a
meeting with the principal or principal's designee, the parent or legal
guardian and the classroom teacher to review the student's progress in
achieving proficiency in the English language or in making progress toward the
Arizona Academic Standards adopted by the Board, to identify any problems, to
determine appropriate solutions and to identify the person or persons
responsible for implementing the changes and determining their
effectiveness.
G.
F. Reassessment for
reclassification.
1. The purpose of
reassessment is to determine if an EL has developed the English language skills
necessary to succeed in the English language curricula.
2. An EL in grades one through twelve may be
reassessed for reclassification during test windows established by the
Department if the mid-year test requirements are met, but shall be reassessed
for reclassification at least once per year. ELs that score at or above the
designated score for fluent English language proficiency, adopted by the
Department and based on the test publishers' designated scores, shall be
reclassified as FEP.
3. ELLs in kindergarten or first
grade shall be reassessed with an alternate version of the oral test of English
language proficiency used for initial assessment, unless the same test is no
longer published or available when a student is to be reassessed. In such case,
the school shall select a test from the Board approved tests for reassessment.
Students who score at or above the test publisher's designated score for
English language proficiency, or such other score adopted by the Board based on
the publisher's designated score, may be reclassified as FEP. LEAs may also
consider other indications of a student's overall progress, including teacher
evaluation, and subject matter assessments that are aligned with grade level
state content and performance standards in deciding whether to reclassify a
student who has passed the oral proficiency test.
4. ELLs in grades 2-12 shall be
reassessed with an alternate version of the oral, reading and writing English
language proficiency tests used for initial assessment, unless the same test is
no longer published or available when a student is to be reassessed. In such
case the school shall select a test from the Board approved tests for
reassessment. Students who score at or above the test publisher's designated
score for English language proficiency, or such other score adopted by the
Board, in all of the tests shall be reclassified as FEP.
5.
3. LEAs shall notify the parents or legal guardians in
writing that their child has been reclassified as FEP when the student meets
the criteria for such reclassification.
H.
Reassessment of special education students for
English language reclassification. If a multidisciplinary evaluation or IEP
team finds the procedures prescribed in subsection (G) inappropriate for a
particular special education student, the LEA shall employ alternate procedures
for reassessing the student for purposes of English language reclassification.
Persons conducting the English language reassessment shall participate with the
special education multidisciplinary evaluation or IEP team in the determination
of the student's English language proficiency designation.
I.
G. Evaluation of FEP students after exit from EL
programs.
1. The LEA shall monitor exited
students based on the criteria provided in this Section during each of the two
years after being reclassified as FEP to determine whether these students are
performing satisfactorily in achieving the Arizona Academic Standards adopted
by the Board. Such students will be monitored in reading, writing and
mathematics skills and mastery of academic content areas, including science and
social studies. The criteria shall be grade-appropriate and uniform throughout
the LEA, and upon request, is subject to Board review. Students who are not
making satisfactory progress shall, with parent consent, be provided
compensatory instruction or shall be re-enrolled in an EL program. A WICP
describing the compensatory instruction provided shall be maintained in the
students' EL files.
2. The LEA
shall use statewide assessment scores to determine progress toward achieving
the Arizona Academic Standards in monitoring FEP students after exit from an EL
program unless no score is available. Performing satisfactorily will be
measured by whether a student meets or exceeds the state standards in reading,
writing, and mathematics as measured by the statewide assessment.
3. If a statewide assessment score is not
available because the test is not administered in the students' grade or to
assess progress in academic subjects not assessed by the statewide assessment,
the LEA shall use one or more of the following criteria in its evaluation to
determine progress toward achieving the Arizona Academic Standards in
monitoring FEP students after exit from an EL program:
a. LEA-developed criterion-referenced tests
of academic achievement that demonstrate alignment to the Arizona Academic
Standards; or
b. Standardized tests
measuring academic achievement that demonstrate alignment to the Arizona
Academic Standards; or
c.
Nationally norm-referenced test scores; or
d. Teacher recommendations based on classroom
assessments that demonstrate alignment to the Arizona Academic Standards.
J.
H. Monitoring of EL
programs.
1. Each year the Department shall
monitor at least 32 LEAs, as follows:
a. At
least 12 of the 50 LEAs with the highest EL enrollment;
b. At least 10 LEAs with ELLs that are not
included in the 50 described above;
c. At least 10 LEAs that have reported that
they have 25 or fewer EL students in their schools; and
d. Other LEAs upon receipt of a documented
written complaint from any Arizona resident, the U.S. Department of Education,
or the U.S. Office for Civil Rights, alleging that the LEA is not complying
with state or federal law regarding ELs.
2. All of the 50 LEAs in subsection (H)(1)(a)
shall be monitored by the Department at least once every four years.
3. The monitoring shall be on-site monitoring
and shall include classroom observations, curriculum reviews, faculty
interviews, student records reviews, and review of EL programs. The Department
may use personnel from other schools to assist in the monitoring.
4. The Department shall issue a report on the
results of its monitoring within 45 days after completing the monitoring. If
the Department determines that an LEA is not complying with state or federal
laws applicable to EL students, the LEA shall prepare and submit to the
Department, within 60 days of the Department's determination, a corrective
action plan that sets forth steps that the LEA will take to correct the
deficiencies noted in the report.
5. The Department shall review and return
such corrective action plan to the LEA within 30 days, noting any required
changes. No later than 30 days after receiving its corrective action plan back
from the Department, the LEA shall begin implementing the measures set forth in
the plan, including any revisions required by the Department.
6. The Department shall conduct a follow-up
evaluation of the LEA within one year after returning the corrective action
plan to the LEA.
7. If the
Department finds continued non-compliance during the follow-up evaluation, the
LEA shall be referred to the Board for a determination of non-compliance. If
the Board determines the LEA to be out of compliance with state or federal laws
applicable to EL students, it may take one or more of the following actions:
a. Temporarily withhold cash payments of
federal EL grant monies;
b.
Disallow (that is deny both use of funds and matching credit for) all or part
of the cost of the activity or action not in compliance;
c. Wholly or partly suspend or terminate the
current award of federal EL grant monies;
d. Withhold further awards of federal EL
grant monies for the program.
8. The Department shall monitor all LEAs that
the Board has determined to be non-compliant and which have had federal EL
grant monies withheld or terminated to ensure that such LEAs do not reduce the
amount of funds spent on their EL programs as the result of its loss of
funds.
