(a)Beginning with school year 2019-2020,
the provisions of this section shall expire and be superseded by the
provisions in §89.1226 of this title (relating to Testing and
Classification of Students, Beginning with School Year 2019-2020).
(b)Within four weeks of initial enrollment
in a Texas public school, a student with a language other than English
indicated on the home language survey shall be administered the required
oral language proficiency test in prekindergarten through Grade 12
and norm-referenced standardized achievement instrument in Grades
2-12 as described in subsection (c) of this section and shall be identified
as an English learner and placed in the required bilingual education
or English as a second language (ESL) program in accordance with the
criteria listed in subsection (f) of this section.
(c)[(a)] For identifying English
[language] learners, school districts shall administer
to each student who has a language other than English as identified
on the home language survey:
(1)in prekindergarten through Grade 1, an oral language
proficiency test approved by the Texas Education Agency (TEA); and
(2)in Grades 2-12, a TEA-approved oral language proficiency
test and the English reading and English language arts sections from
a TEA-approved norm-referenced assessment[, or another test approved
by the TEA, unless the norm-referenced standardized achievement instrument
is not valid in accordance with subsection (f)(2)(C) of this section].
(d)[(b)] School districts that
provide a bilingual education program at the elementary grades shall
administer an oral language proficiency test in the primary [
home] language of the student who is eligible to be served in
the bilingual education program. If the primary [home]
language of the student is Spanish, the school district shall administer
a [the] Spanish [version of the] TEA-approved
oral language proficiency test [that was administered in English].
If a TEA-approved language proficiency test is not available
in the primary [the home] language of the student
[is other than Spanish], the school district shall determine
the student's level of proficiency using informal oral language assessment
measures.
(e)[(c)] All of the
[oral] language proficiency testing shall be administered
by professionals or paraprofessionals who are proficient in the language
of the test and trained in the language proficiency testing
requirements of the test publisher.
[(d)The grade levels and the scores
on each test that shall identify a student as an English language
learner shall be established by the TEA. The commissioner of education
shall review the approved list of tests, grade levels, and scores
annually and update the list.]
[(e)Students with a language other
than English shall be administered the required oral language proficiency
test in prekindergarten through Grade 12 and norm-referenced standardized
achievement instrument in Grades 2-12 within 20 school days of their
enrollment.]
(f)For entry into a bilingual education or ESL [
English as a second language] program, a student shall be identified
as an English [language] learner using the following criteria.
(1)In prekindergarten through Grade 1, the student's
score on the English oral language proficiency test is below the level
designated for indicating [limited] English proficiency
[under subsection (d) of this section].
(2)In Grades 2-12:
(A)the student's score on the English oral language
proficiency test is below the level designated for indicating [limited
] English proficiency [under subsection (d) of this section];
and
(B)the student's score on the English reading and/or
English language arts sections of the TEA-approved norm-referenced
standardized achievement instrument at his or her grade level is below
the 40th percentile.[; or]
[(C)the student's ability in English
is so limited that the administration, at his or her grade level,
of the reading and language arts sections of a TEA-approved norm-referenced
standardized achievement instrument or other test approved by the
TEA is not valid.]
[(3)In the absence of data required
in paragraph (2)(B) of this subsection, evidence that the student
is not academically successful as defined in subsection (j) of this
section is required.]
[(4)The admission review and dismissal
(ARD) committee in conjunction with the language proficiency assessment
committee shall determine an appropriate assessment instrument and
designated level of performance for indicating limited English proficiency
as required under subsection (d) of this section for students for
whom those tests would be inappropriate as part of the individualized
education program (IEP). The decision for entry into a bilingual education
or English as a second language program shall be determined by the
ARD committee in conjunction with the language proficiency assessment
committee in accordance with §89.1220(g) of this title (relating
to Language Proficiency Assessment Committee).]
(g)A student shall be identified
as an English learner if the student's ability in English is so limited
that the English oral language proficiency or norm-referenced assessments
described in subsection (c) of this section cannot be administered.
(h)The language proficiency assessment
committee in conjunction with the admission, review, and dismissal
(ARD) committee shall identify a student as an English learner if
the student's ability in English is so limited or the student's disabilities
are so severe that the English oral language proficiency or norm-referenced
assessments described in subsection (c) of this section cannot be
administered. The decision for entry into a bilingual education or
ESL program shall be determined by the language proficiency assessment
committee in conjunction with the ARD committee in accordance with §89.1220(f)
of this title (relating to Language Proficiency Assessment Committee).
[(g)Within 20 school days of their
initial enrollment in the school district, students shall be identified
as English language learners and enrolled into the required bilingual
education or English as a second language program. Prekindergarten
and kindergarten students preregistered in the spring shall be identified
as English language learners and enrolled in the required bilingual
education or English as a second language program within 20 school
days of the start of the school year in the fall.]
(i)[(h)] For exit from a bilingual
education or ESL [English as a second language]
program, a student may be classified as English proficient only at
the end of the school year in which a student would be able to participate
equally in a general education, all-English instructional program.
This determination shall be based upon all of the following:
(1)English proficiency on the state's approved
test [TEA-approved tests] that measures [
measure] the extent to which the student has developed oral
and written language proficiency and specific language skills in English;
(2)passing standard met [satisfactory
performance] on the reading assessment instrument under the
Texas Education Code (TEC), §39.023(a), or, for students
at grade levels not assessed by the aforementioned reading assessment
instrument, [a TEA-approved English language arts assessment
instrument administered in English, or] a score at or above
the 40th percentile on both the English reading and the English language
arts sections of the state's approved [a TEA-approved]
norm-referenced standardized achievement instrument [for a student
who is enrolled in Grade 1 or 2]; and
(3)English proficiency on a TEA-approved
criterion-referenced written test [tests when available,
or other TEA-approved tests when criterion-referenced tests are not
available,] and the results of a subjective teacher evaluation
using the state's standardized rubric.
(j)[(i)] A student may not be
exited from the bilingual education or ESL [English
as a second language] program in prekindergarten or kindergarten.
A school district must ensure that English [language] learners
are prepared to meet academic standards required by the TEC, §28.0211.
(k)A student may not be exited from
the bilingual education or ESL program if the language proficiency
assessment committee has recommended designated supports or accommodations
on the state reading or writing assessment instrument.
[(j)For determining whether a student
who has been exited from a bilingual education or English as a second
language program is academically successful, the following criteria
shall be used at the end of the school year:]
[(1)the student meets state performance standards
in English on the criterion-referenced assessment instrument required
in the TEC, §39.023, for the grade level as applicable; and]
[(2)the student has passing grades in all subjects
and courses taken.]
[(k)The ARD committee in conjunction
with the language proficiency assessment committee shall determine
an appropriate assessment instrument and performance standard requirement
for exit under subsection (h) of this section for students for whom
those tests would be inappropriate as part of the IEP. The decision
to exit a student who receives both special education and special
language services from the bilingual education or English as a second
language program is determined by the ARD committee in conjunction
with the language proficiency assessment committee in accordance with
applicable provisions of subsection (h) of this section.]
(l)For English learners who are also
eligible for special education services, the standardized process
for English learner program exit is followed in accordance with applicable
provisions of subsection (i) of this section. However, annual meetings
to review student progress and make recommendations for program exit
must be made in all instances by the language proficiency assessment
committee in conjunction with the ARD committee in accordance with §89.1230(b)
of this title (relating to Eligible Students with Disabilities). Additionally,
the language proficiency committee in conjunction with the ARD committee
shall implement assessment procedures that differentiate between language
proficiency and disabling conditions in accordance with §89.1230(a)
of this title.
(m)For an English learner with significant
cognitive disabilities, the language proficiency assessment committee
in conjunction with the ARD committee may determine that the state's
English language proficiency assessment for exit is not appropriate
because of the nature of the student's disabling condition. In these
cases, the language proficiency assessment committee in conjunction
with the ARD committee may recommend that the student take the state's
alternate English language proficiency assessment and shall determine
an appropriate performance standard requirement for exit by language
domain under subsection (i)(1) of this section;
(n)[(l)] Notwithstanding §101.101
of this title (relating to Group-Administered Tests), all tests used
for the purpose of identification, exit, and placement of students
and approved by the TEA must be re-normed at least every eight years.
(o)The grade levels and the scores
on each test that shall identify a student as an English learner or
exit a student from a bilingual or ESL program shall be established
by the TEA. The commissioner of education may review the approved
list of tests, grade levels, and scores annually and update the list.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed
the proposal and found it to be within the state agency's legal authority
to adopt.
Filed with the Office
of the Secretary of State on April 9, 2018
TRD-201801519 Cristina De La Fuente-Valadez
Director, Rulemaking
Texas Education Agency
Earliest possible date of adoption: May 20, 2018
For further information, please call: (512) 475-1497
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