Ariz. Admin. Code § 7-2-306

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 49, December 6, 2024

Section R7-2-306 - English Language Learner Programs

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. 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.

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. 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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R7-2-306

Repealed effective December 4, 1978 (Supp. 78-6). New Section R7-2-306 adopted effective July 10, 1979 (Supp. 79-4). Amended effective August 20, 1981 (Supp. 81-4). Former Section R7-2-306 repealed, new Section R7-2-306adopted effective November 14, 1984 (Supp. 84-6). Amended by final rulemaking at 10 A.A.R. 353, effective March 8, 2004 (Supp. 04-1). Amended by final exempt rulemaking at 26 A.A.R. 66, effective 12/13/2019.