Effective Immediately: Important Guidelines for District Administrators on ELL Exit Criteria

Please find below a high priority message from Dr. Jobi Lawrence, Title III Director, Iowa Department of Education, which outlines current federal and state regulations related to exit criteria for English Language Learners (ELLs) during the spring 2015.

Dear Colleague;

Last spring the Iowa Department of Education (IDE) received a monitoring visit from the United States Department of Education (USDE) Title III office. In visiting with school districts, the USDE found that some limited English proficient identified students were exited from language instruction education programs (LIEPs) prior to meeting the state exit criteria [IAC rule 281—60.3(3)(b)(4)]. As noted in the exit criteria, a student must receive a composite score of 6 based on the subtests of the English language proficiency assessment (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) in order to be exited from an English language learners program. Additionally, the student must meet three of the following four exit criteria [Rule 60.3(3)(b)(4)]:

1. Success in regular classroom

2. Language Instruction Education Program support not required

3. Sustainability of success

4. Score proficient on district-wide and state-wide assessments, such as Iowa Assessments in reading, mathematics, and science

It is required that the student meet the exiting criteria concurrently, meaning that when the team sits down to make exit determinations the student must have a composite score of 6 and meet the 3/4 additional district-determined criteria at the time the decision is made.