CALPADS Flash #279

To:           Local Educational Agency (LEA) Representatives

From:      California Department of Education (CDE) –
                California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) Team

Date:       June 17, 2024

Subject:  CALPADS Update FLASH #279

Assessing Students for English Language Acquisition Status During July and August

Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) in California, based on the Home Language Survey, must assess new students within 30 calendar days of enrollment, with the Initial English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) or the Initial Alternate ELPAC to determine if they are English Learners.

The testing window for the Initial ELPAC and Initial Alternate ELPAC for 2024−25 opens on July 3, 2024. LEAs may choose to assess eligible students in July and August before school opens, to manage workload and ensure that English learner (EL) students receive appropriate services from the first day of school. This Flash provides guidance on which students to assess during the summer with the Initial ELPAC/Alternate ELPAC and reminds LEAs of the process for assessing those students in the summer before school starts.

Which Students to Assess During the Summer

Kindergarten Students: LEAs should consider assessing, during the summer, incoming kindergarten students who have never been assessed with the Initial ELPAC/Alternate ELPAC. By assessing these students and determining whether they are English learners before school starts, LEAs can plan for services for EL students and ensure that students receive the necessary support right away when school begins. Additionally, while testing kindergarten students in the summer may result in an LEA testing students who do not end up enrolling in the testing LEA, the students’ English Language Acquisition Status (ELAS) determination is accessible to other LEAs. This prevents redundant testing and promotes statewide efficiency.

Transitional Kindergarten Students: LEAs should not assess incoming transitional kindergarten (TK) students. Assembly Bill 2268 (Chapter 15, Statutes of 2024) was signed by the Governor on June 14, 2024 and goes into effect immediately. This bill amends California Education Code Section 60810(b) to exempt TK students from both the Initial ELPAC/Alternative ELPAC and the summative ELPAC/Alternate ELPAC. Administration of the Initial ELPAC/Alternate ELPAC for Kindergarten students remains unchanged.

NOTE: LEAs are reminded that students in transitional kindergarten (TK) should be enrolled in grade level TK – Transitional Kindergarten and not grade level KN – Kindergarten. Comparing prior years TK data collected through a program record, to the grade level counts LEAs certified as part of 2023−24 Fall 1, CDE found that while most LEAs transitioned to using the TK grade level in CALPADS, some LEAs did not. With the pending legislation, enrolling TK students in grade level TK and not grade level KN, has become more critical. LEAs should ensure processes are in place to ensure that TK students are placed in grade level TK.

Process for Assessing Students During the Summer

Assessing students during the summer, when students are not enrolled in school, requires LEAs to submit a “pre-enrollment” to CALPADS. To pre-enroll students, LEAs must follow these steps:

Step 1: Determine whether incoming kindergarten students already have a Statewide Student Identifier (SSID) and an ELAS in CALPADS. Kindergarten students who attended transitional kindergarten should already have an SSID and may have already been assessed with the Initial ELPAC/Alternate ELPAC. Students who have been assessed should have an ELAS in CALPADS. First determining whether a student already has an SSID and ELAS will prevent the creation of multiple identifiers and re-testing.

To determine whether a student already has an SSID, LEAs can either use the SSID Match Tool or search for the student using the online Student Lookup functionality in CALPADS.

Step 2: If the student does not have an SSID, request an SSID and then “pre-enroll” the student in CALPADS by submitting the following records:

1. Student Enrollment (SENR) record with:
   • An enrollment State Date that is equal to the expected first day of school
     
     
2. Student English Language Acquisition (SELA) record with:
   • An ELAS code of TBD – To be Determined
   • An ELAS Start Date equal to the current date
   • A Primary Language Code other than English (eng). Also refer to following section, “Students with a Primary Language of American Sign Language vs. Other Sign Languages”.
     
     
3. Student Information (SINF) record with:
   • The student’s mailing address if the LEA wants the address on Student Score Reports (SSRs) to facilitate mailing of the reports to parents/guardians
   • Initial US School Enrollment Date K-12 populated with the expected first day of school. Refer to Flash 272 for considerations on populating this field.

Step 3: Once students complete the Initial ELPAC or Initial Alternate ELPAC, their ELAS status of English Learner (EL) or Initial Fluent English Proficient (IFEP) is determined based on their assessment results and populated directly from TOMS to CALPADS. The ELAS status for each student can be found on the CALPADS’ Student Detail page by expanding the Student English Language Acquisition container or on the TOMS’ Student Details page.

LEAs should then update their local student information systems (SIS) using the CALPADS SELA Operational Data Store (ODS) Extract. Students with an ELAS of EL will also be able to access the Summative ELPAC or the Summative Alternate ELPAC, later in the year.

Step 4: For students that are tested but end up not enrolling in/attending a school in the LEA in the fall, the LEA should exit that student with an N470 with an Exit Date that is one day before the enrollment Start Date. If the LEA fails to exit the student, and the student has an ELAS of EL, the student will continue to show up in TOMS as needing to be tested with the Summative ELPAC/Alternate ELPAC when the Summative ELPAC window opens later in the year.

Students with a Primary Language of American Sign Language vs. Other Sign Languages

It is essential to recognize that American Sign Language (ASL) is not the only sign language used by students who are deaf or hard of hearing. There are numerous sign languages worldwide, each with its unique linguistic features and cultural nuances. LEAs must be sensitive to the diversity of sign languages and ensure that students are assessed appropriately based on their specific sign language. A student's sign language is important in determining whether they should be tested with the Initial ELPAC/Alternate ELPAC.

When a student’s primary language is:

• American Sign Language, LEAs should submit a SELA record with:
  • An ELAS Code of EO – English or American Sign Language Only; and
  • A Primary Language Code of sgn – Sign Languages.*
    
    
• A sign language other than ASL, LEAs should submit a SELA record with:
  • An ELAS Code of TBD – To Be Determined; and
  • A Primary Language Code of sgn – Sign Languages.

Students with an ELAS of TBD and a primary language of sgn will be eligible for the Initial ELPAC, and if the student is also a student with disabilities, the Initial Alternate ELPAC.

*Note: Beginning in 2024−25, a new language code, ase – American Sign Language will be implemented. When this code is implemented, LEAs will no longer be able to submit an ELAS Code of EO and a Primary Language Code of sgn.