The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
Improving Education for English Learners — Updates
| To: | Members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education |
| From: | Jeffrey C. Riley, Commissioner |
| Date: | June 14, 2019 |
At the June 2018 meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (Board), the Board voted to amend several areas of regulation including 603 CMR 7.00 (Educator Licensure and Preparation Program Approval Regulations), 603 CMR 14.00 (Education of English Learners Regulations) and 603 CMR 31.00 (Massachusetts Certificate of Mastery Regulations). These amended regulations were designed to improve the instruction of English learners and implement the Language Opportunity for Our Kids Act, Chapter 138 of the Acts of 2017 (LOOK Act). Below is a brief summary of some key provisions of the LOOK Act and the work the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has done during SY2019 and will be doing in SY2020 to support districts and schools in implementing it.
Language Acquisition Program Flexibility (now addressed in state regulation 603 CMR 14.04):
- Provides districts with flexibility in choosing a language acquisition program that best fits the needs of their English learner population.
- Requires districts that intend to offer new programs (including new Sheltered English Immersion programs) for English learners to submit specific information for review by DESE and the district's English Learner Parent Advisory Council. All programs must be based on research and best practices.
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Support for the Field:
- Developed guidance on Starting a New ELE Program — Quick Reference Guide for districts intending to offer new English Learner Education (ELE) programs, including two forms for districts that are planning to begin new ELE programs (Preliminary ELE Program Proposal, New ELE Program Complete Proposal).
- Provided technical assistance and approved 12 new alternative ELE programs in three districts (Boston, Amherst-Pelham, and Worcester).
- Awarded the following districts competitive grants to design and implement new bilingual education programs:
- $300,000 to Amherst/Holyoke
- $300,000 to Salem/Lynn
- $150,000 to Worcester
- $100,000 to Fall River
- Developed and delivered in May and June 2019:
- A webinar that including key information on bilingual education for interested districts;
- One two-day training for elementary school leaders that goes into depth regarding bilingual education programs at the elementary level; and one two-day training for secondary school leaders.
- Hired state and national experts to assist with the development of the Guidance for Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Programs and the Guidance for Defining and Implementing Two Way Immersion Programs (TWI).
- Will develop Guidance for Defining and Implementing One-Way Immersion (OWI) and Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) in SY2020.
- Updated the Guidance on Identification, Assessment, Placement, and Reclassification of English Language Learners based on the LOOK Act and split it into five shorter components.
- Updated the Massachusetts Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) Definition and Guidance based on the LOOK Act.
- Created a Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) on-line instructional tool.
- Created Guidance for the Support of English Learners with Disabilities and split it into three quick reference guides; a new on-line instructional tool for this guidance will be developed in SY2020.
Increased Input from Parents and Guardians:
English Learner Parent Advisory Councils (now addressed by state regulation 603 CMR 14.09)
- Requires all school districts serving 100 or more English learners or in which English learners comprise at least five percent of the student population to establish English Learner Parent Advisory Councils (ELPACs).
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Support for the Field:
- Developed district Guidance for English Learner Parent Advisory Councils (ELPACs).
- Developed ELPAC Information for Parents — a quick reference guide for parents translated into 32 languages.
- Will develop district and school leader ELPAC trainings in SY2020.
- Will develop parent/guardian ELPAC trainings with translated content in SY2020.
Parental Notification and Input on Program Assignment
- Requires districts to, at least annually, inform parents and guardians of English learners of their rights to:
- Choose a language acquisition program among those offered by the district,
- Request a new language acquisition program, and
- Withdraw a student from a language acquisition program.
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Support for the Field:
- Developed a Parent ELE Program Transfer Request form for parents to provide to district superintendents and translated it into 32 languages.
- Developed a District Response to ELE Program Transfer Request for districts to send to parents and translated it into 32 languages.
- Revised the Home Language Survey for parents enrolling in a new district to fill out based on the LOOK Act and translated it into 32 languages.
- Revised the Parent Notification Regarding English Language Education form for districts to send to parents based on the LOOK Act and translated it into 32 languages.
- Developed an English Language Education (ELE) Program Placement form for districts to send to parents based on the LOOK Act and translated it into 32 languages.
State Seal of Biliteracy (now addressed in state regulation 603 CMR 31.07)
- Directs the Board to establish the State Seal of Biliteracy, which the Board did in June 2018 through regulation. Districts may award the State Seal of Biliteracy to students who meet the state criteria for demonstrating a high level of proficiency in English and at least one other language.
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Support for the Field:
- Developed Guidance for Implementing the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy.
- Developed Massachusetts Approved Assessment Instruments for Foreign Languages and English for district State Seal of Biliteracy leaders.
- Developed a Portfolio-Based Alternative Evidence Method for Foreign Language Assessment in MA for district State Seal of Biliteracy leaders.
- Provided technical assistance to districts that were interested in opting into the State Seal of Biliteracy program. Thus far 80 districts have opted into the program.
- Developed a system to collect data on who has earned the State Seal of Biliteracy and the State Seal of Biliteracy with Distinction.
- Will create a map of districts that have opted into the State Seal of Biliteracy program and how many students in each district have earned the State Seal of Biliteracy and the State Seal of Biliteracy with Distinction.
- Met with members of the MA Business Alliance for Education and a representative of the MA Department of Higher Education to create a partnership to promote bilingualism in our state and map out what that might look like.
Benchmarks, Guidelines and Templates
- Requires DESE to establish: (i) benchmarks for English learners for attaining English proficiency; (ii) guidelines to support districts in identifying English learners who do not meet benchmarks; and (iii) an English learner success template for use by districts to assist English learners who are not meeting English proficiency benchmarks.
- Requires districts to provide a copy of these materials to parents/guardians of English learners within specific timeframes.
- Requires districts to adopt procedures to identify English learners who do not meet the English proficiency benchmarks and establish various processes relating to them.
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Support for the Field:
- Created the following for all English Learners taking the ACCESS test:
- future progress target — minimum overall ACCESS level needed on the following year's test to remain on track to attaining proficiency
- difficulty index — how difficult it will be to reach next year's target
- Also created the following for English learners who have taken the ACCESS test two or more years:
- student growth percentile for ACCESS (SGPA) — amount of progress made from one year to the next
- progress indicator — whether the student did or did not make progress (whether or not they made their future progress target)
- Developed district Guidelines for the Use of Benchmarks Toward Attaining English Proficiency.
- Developed the Benchmarks Guidelines Executive Summary for Parents and translated it into 32 languages.
- Developed a Student Learning Success Template and translated it into 32 languages.
New Educator Qualifications for Bilingual Education (now addressed in state regulation 603 CMR 7.14)
- Requires DESE to establish licensure endorsements for educators in various types of English learner education programs. DESE already had a Sheltered English Immersion Endorsement and has now established the Bilingual Education Endorsement.
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Support for the Field:
- Developed a Bilingual Education Endorsement webpage for district leaders and educators to access.
- Developed a Frequently Asked Questions document for district leaders and educators to access.
- Created the Bilingual Education Endorsement Guidelines and the Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) review process whereby IHEs can apply to become approved providers of bilingual education courses that result in the bilingual endorsement. DESE has approved two IHE programs thus far: Bridgewater State University and UMASS Amherst.
- Will develop a Bilingual Endorsement MTEL test for educators in SY2020.
- Will develop Bilingual Endorsement data in EDWIN for district leaders in SY2020.
New Educator SEI Endorsement Qualifications for Career Vocational Technical Educators (now addressed in state regulations 603 CMR 4.00, 7.14, 7.15 and 14.08)
- Starting July 1, 2021, career vocational technical teachers with ELs, and principals, assistant principals, and supervisors/directors who supervise or evaluate such teachers, must hold the SEI Endorsement or obtain it within one year from the date of the assignment.
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Support for the Field:
- Updated readings, assignments, and videos for the SEI Endorsement course to make it more relevant to career vocational technical educators.
- Hired vendors to run 44 no-cost SEI Endorsement courses for career vocational technical educators in spring 2019 and fall 2019.
- Developed a webpage to provide career vocational technical educators with information regarding the requirements to obtain the SEI Endorsement, the pathways to earn the SEI Endorsement, and other resources.
- Developed a No-Cost SEI Endorsement Course webpage where career vocational technical educators may register for SEI Endorsement courses.
- Added SEI Endorsement data in EDWIN for career vocational technical educators, to supplement the existing data for core content educators.