NAELPA Signs on to Letter to USED About EL Proficiency Testing

The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law drafted a letter to the US Department of Education (USED) to request that the USED do three things. 

1. Not to seek sanctions or other punitive measures "against any SEA or LEA for failing to administer English language proficiency tests to EL students who cannot otherwise take the test safely and appropriately or those students whose parents are concerned that they cannot take the test safely during the 2020-21 school year and that SEAs and LEAs may postpone the testing until the beginning of the 2021-22 school year."
2. Encourage states and districts to provide "clear guidance describing an opt-out protocol to the in-person assessment for EL students who are in remote learning and ensure those students are informed of the options in their parents’ first language and that their children will still be assessed and will not suffer any consequences for opting out." And
3. Encourage states and districts to continue to "measure an EL student’s English proficiency for placement and exiting students using other appropriate and reliable information."

This letter was not written by NAELPA and examples used in the letter are not necessarily endorsed by NAELPA. NAELPA's Executive Board decided to sign on to this letter because of our support for the three requests outlined above. The letter is available here.