Policy Update: Screening of Multilingual/English Learners

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction sent this bulletin at 06/16/2021 10:10 AM PDT

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Policy Update: Screening of Multilingual/English Learners

The current Bilingual Program Guidelines include a policy on re-screening in-state transfer students who have not been assessed on the annual summative assessment within the past two years. The following adjustments are being made to that policy:

New language: If a TBIP-eligible student has not been tested on the two most recent annual English proficiency assessments, the district may choose to administer an assessment to determine current proficiency level and inform placement decision. The following options are all acceptable options for this purpose.

A local assessment developed for the purpose of determining current proficiency and informing placement.
WIDA MODEL (district purchased),
WIDA Screener. Please note that students who are already identified as English learners may not exit EL services using the Screener regardless of their score.

Considerations for Fall 2021

Due to the instructional challenges for multilingual/English learners arising from the pandemic school closures, there is a need for districts to discriminate among the various situations which may or may not require administration of the screener.

Please see further guidance with a table of potential scenarios here.

Connect with us

Shannon Martin – Supporting districts Aberdeen – Issaquah | Bilingual Education Program Supervisor | 360-725-4476

Sue Connolly – Supporting districts Kalama – Pullman | Bilingual Education Program Interim Director | 360-522-0001

Amy Ingram – Supporting districts Puyallup – Zillah | Bilingual Education Program Supervisor | 360-764-6201

Patty Finnegan, Ph.D. – Dual language education support for all districts. | Assistant Director of Dual Language Education | 360-725-4468

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