NOTE:  State Board of Education emergency regulations. Effective July 23, 1998 to November 20, 1998. Changes to Section § 11303(a)(3) are proposed.

Title 5, California Code of Regulation

Division 1, Chapter 11

English Language Education for Immigrant Children

1. Amend the title of Subchapter 4. to read:

Subchapter 4. Special Programs or Classes for Elementary School Pupils

Subchapter 4. English Language Education for Immigrant Children

2. Adopt Section 11300. to read:

§ 11300. Definitions.

"School term" as used in Education Code section 330 means each school's semester or equivalent, as determined by the local governing board, which next begins following August 2, 1998. For multitrack or year round schools, a semester or equivalent may begin on different days for each school track. Note: Authority cited: Section 33031, Education Code. Reference: Section 330, Education Code.

3. Adopt Section 11301. to read:

§ 11301. Knowledge and Fluency in English.

(a) For purposes of "a good working knowledge of English" pursuant to Education Code Section 305 and "reasonable fluency in English" pursuant to Education Code Section 306(c), an English learner shall be transferred from a structured English immersion classroom to an English language mainstream classroom when the pupil has acquired a reasonable level of English proficiency as measured by any of the state-designated assessments approved by the California Department of Education, or any locally developed assessments.

(b) At any time, including during the school year, a parent or guardian may have his or her child moved into an English language mainstream classroom.

(c) An English learner may be re-enrolled in a structured English immersion program not normally intended to exceed one year if the pupil has not achieved a reasonable level of English proficiency as defined in Section 11301 unless the parents or guardians of the pupil object to the extended placement.

 Note: Authority cited: Section 33031, Education Code. Reference: Sections 305 and 306(c), Education Code.

4. Adopt Section 11302. to read:

§ 11302. Duration of Services.

School districts shall continue to provide additional and appropriate educational services to English learners in kindergarten through grade 12 for the purposes of overcoming language barriers until the English learners have:

(a) demonstrated English-language proficiency comparable to that of the school district's average native English-language speakers; and

(b) recouped any academic deficits which may have been incurred in other areas of the core curriculum as a result of language barriers.

 Note: Authority cited: Section 33031, Education Code. Reference: Sections 305, 306 and 310, Education Code; U.S. Code, Title 20, Section 1703(f); Castaneda v. Pickard (5th Cir. 1981) 648 F.2d 989, 1009-1011; and Gomez v. Illinois State Board of Education (7th Cir. 1987) 811 F 2d. 1030, 1041-1042.

5. Adopt Section 11303. to read:

§ 11303. Parental Exception Waivers.

(a) Parents and guardians must be informed of the placement of their children in a structured English immersion program and must be notified of an opportunity to apply for a parental exception waiver. School districts shall establish procedures for granting parental exception waivers as permitted by Education Code sections 310 and 311 which include each of the following components:

(1) Parents and guardians must be provided with a full written description and upon request from a parent or guardian, a spoken description of the structured English immersion program and any alternative courses of study and all educational opportunities offered by the school district and available to the pupil. The descriptions of the program choices shall address the educational materials to be used in the different options.

(2) Pursuant to Education Code section 311(c), parents and guardians must be informed that the student must be placed for a period of not less than thirty (30) calendar days in an English language classroom and that the school district superintendent must approve the waiver pursuant to guidelines established by the local governing board.

(3) Parental exception waivers shall be granted unless the school principal and educational staff have substantial evidence determined that the an alternative program requested by the parent offered at the school would not be better suited for the overall education development of the pupil.

(b) All parental exception waivers shall be acted upon by the school within twenty (20) instructional days of submission to the school principal. However, parental waiver requests under Education Code section 311(c) shall not be acted upon during the thirty- (30)-day placement in an English language classroom. These waivers must be acted upon either no later than ten (10) calendar days after the expiration of that thirty- (30)-day English language classroom placement or within twenty (20) instructional days of submission of the parental waiver to the school principal, whichever is later.

(c) In cases where a parental exception waiver pursuant to Education Code sections 311(b) and (c) is denied, the parents and guardians must be informed in writing of the reason(s) for denial, and if relevant, advised of any procedures that exist to appeal the decision to the local board of education.

(d) For waivers pursuant to Education Code section 311(a) and for students for whom standardized assessment data is not available, school districts may use equivalent measures as determined by the local governing board.

 Note: Authority cited: Section 33031, Education Code. Reference: Sections 305, 310 and 311, Education Code.

6. Adopt Section 11304. to read:

§ 11304. State Board of Education Review of Guidelines for Parental Exception Waivers

(a) Upon written request of the State Board of Education, school district governing boards shall submit any guidelines or procedures adopted pursuant to Education Code section 311 to the State Board of Education for its review.

(b) Any parent or guardian who applies for a waiver under Education Code section 311 may request a review of the school district's guidelines or procedures by the State Board of Education. The sole purpose of the review shall be to make a determination as to whether those guidelines or procedures comply with the parental exception waiver guidelines set forth in Section 11303.

 7. Adopt Section 11305. to read:

§ 11305. Community Based English Tutoring.

In distributing funds authorized by Education Code sections 315 and 316, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall allocate the funds and local educational agencies shall disburse the funds at their discretion consistent with the following:

(a) The funds made available by Education Code sections 315 and 316 shall be apportioned by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to local educational agencies offering Community Based English Tutoring based upon the number of limited English proficient (LEP) pupils identified in the Annual Language Census Survey in the prior year.

(b) The governing boards of local educational agencies may disburse these funds at their discretion to carryout the purposes of this section. Local educational agency governing boards shall require providers of adult English language instruction which receive funds authorized by Education Code sections 315 and 316 to maintain evidence that adult program participants have pledged to provide personal English language tutoring to California school pupils with limited English proficiency.

(c) Local educational agencies may use these funds for direct program services, community notification, transportation services, and background checks pursuant to Education Code section 35021.1 related to the tutoring program.

(d) Local educational agencies shall not receive any funds pursuant to Education Code sections 315 and 316 until the first day that Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 300) of Part 1 of the Education Code is operative for that local educational agency.

 Note: Authority cited: Sections 316 and 33031, Education Code. Reference: Sections 315 and 316, Education Code.