Overview
With the passage of Senate Bill Assembly Bill 1719 (Education Code [EC] 60605.87), the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) invites publishers and producers of English language development (ELD) instructional materials to submit supplemental instructional materials that will bridge specific gaps between the content of existing ELD programs currently used in California’s schools and the increased rigor of four key shifts found in the new California ELD standards. Teachers and literacy experts recruited by the SSPI and the State Board of Education (SBE) will review the submitted ELD supplemental materials to ensure the supplemental materials are aligned with the revised ELD standards and remain consistent with the relevant elements of the evaluation criteria for English language arts supplemental instructional materials.
- Is the ELD SIMR process a state adoption?
No. The process called for in EC 60605.87 is not a formal adoption, it requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to develop, and the SBE to approve, a list of ELD supplemental instructional materials, for Kindergarten and Grade one through eight, that provide a bridge between the current ELD standards and the new California ELD standards.
- Who will benefit from this review?
This review process is a low cost way to begin implementing the new California ELD standards in concert with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The results of this review will provide school districts with resources that can help them bridge the gap in their existing adopted ELD instructional materials.
- Will school districts have to buy these materials?
No. This review is informational only and is done as a service for districts.
- What funds will districts have available to purchase ELD supplemental materials?
School districts may use any and all flexible funding (including funding for textbooks – formerly IMFRP), their Proposition 20 lottery funds, unrestricted general funds, and potentially various federal funds.
- Do publishers of currently adopted materials have to participate in this review process?
No. This is a voluntary process available to all publishers of English language development materials that can be used to bridge the gap in instructional materials currently in use in California district schools. No one is compelled to participate.
- Can publishers of non-adopted materials participate?
Yes.
- Will the CDE use any specific evaluation criteria and standards maps for this review?
Yes. The ELD SIMR evaluation criteria will be made available after the SBE acts to approve them at their March 2013, meeting. The ELD SIMR standards maps will also be made available at that time.
- What process will the review follow?
The CDE and SBE will follow the process outlined in EC 60605.87. The process will be open, public, and transparent, and will allow for public participation at every step. For example, the CDE will publicly notice all meetings and deliberations held with the supplemental materials reviewers, and these meetings will be open to the public.
- What is the timing of the events?
Once notice is published in January, publishers will have until February 15 to submit an Intent to Participate Form. That response will help the CDE staff prepare for a publishers briefing scheduled for March 29, 2013, that will cover all the relevant details for this review. Publishers will submit standards maps citing where their ELD supplemental materials align with the new ELD SIMR standards by June 2013.
After the SBE takes action on the ELD SIMR evaluation criteria for approval at its March 2013, meeting, publishers will submit to the CDE their ELD supplemental materials along with their completed ELD SIMR standards maps on July 31, 2013. ELD SIMR panelists will then review the materials using the maps and ELD SIMR evaluation criteria and report their findings at deliberations in November 2013.
The SBE will then take action on the recommendations in the reports of findings on or before June 30, 2014. Finally, the SSPI will post the results of the SBE’s action on the CDE’s ELD SIMR Web page. Information on the ELD evaluation criteria, the ELD SIMR standards maps, and the schedule of significant events are available on the ELD SIMR Web page.
- How many reviewers will serve on each review panel? When will the review committee assignments be announced?
The exact distribution of reviewers to panels will depend on the number of ELD supplemental programs submitted and the number of reviewers appointed. Typically, panels are comprised of five to seven reviewers.
- How will reviewers be chosen?
Once the ELD SIMR online application was posted in January 2013, interested teachers and literacy experts will have until April 19, 2013 (The submission period of January through March 15, 2013 has been extended until enough reviewer applications have been submitted.), to submit their information via the ELD SIMR online application form. The SBE will then act to approve qualified reviewers at their May 2013, meeting.
- What are the requirements for publisher submissions of ELD supplemental materials?
The specific requirements will be detailed in a forthcoming publisher bulletin.
More detailed information is available on the ELD SIMR Web page and the SIMR FAQs Web page.
