Superintendent's Review of ELD SIMR

Superintendent's Review of English Language Development Supplemental Instructional Materials

Assembly Bill 124 (Fuentes, Chapter 605, Statutes of 2011), signed into law on October 8, 2011, required the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI), in consultation with the State Board of Education (SBE), to update, revise, and align the state’s 1999 English Language Development (ELD) standards, by grade level, to the California Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts by November 2012. That work was completed and the SBE adopted the new California English Language Development Standards (California ELD Standards) on November 7, 2012.

Assembly Bill 1719 (Fuentes), signed into law on September 27, 2012, also requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to develop a list of supplemental instructional materials for grades K–8 that provide a bridge to the new ELD standards for the SBE to approve, on or before, June 30, 2014. The ELD Supplemental Instructional Materials Review (ELD SIMR) shall be based upon the evaluation criteria approved by the state board pursuant to Education Code Section 60605.86(a).

It will take a number of years to develop new curriculum frameworks and instructional materials that are fully aligned to both the new California ELD standards and the CCSS. In the interim, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) invites publishers and producers of ELD 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 ELD standards. In addition, the preponderance of content in the supplemental materials must focus on that subset of standards.

Overview

This review is entirely optional for publishers and the results will be strictly advisory for local educational agencies (LEAs). LEAs will not be in any way compelled to purchase the supplemental materials that are recommended as a result of this review. LEAs will not be able to use categorical program flexibility funds to purchase the supplemental materials, but they may use unrestricted general funds, federal funds, Proposition 20 lottery funds, or other funds, to purchase instructional materials.

The intent of this process is to identify supplemental materials that include the minimum amount of content needed to fully address the subset of standards identified in the ELD SIMR standards maps and that are priced so the cost to districts is kept low. Publishers are encouraged to submit their instructional materials in digital format. The ELD SIMR is open to all publishers and producers of supplemental instructional materials who wish to participate. The SSPI recommendation as approved by the SBE will be advisory only.

Eligibility for Participation

ELD SIMR supplemental materials may be submitted to address the language arts programs for kindergarten through grade 8 that were adopted by the SBE in 2002 and 2008, and specifically address the four key shifts identified in the California ELD Standards Maps and meet the requirements found in the Criteria for the Evaluation of English Language Development Supplemental Instructional Materials (ELD SIMR Criteria).

ELD SIMR Evaluation Criteria

The ELD SIMR Criteria outline the requirements for ELD supplemental materials. The submitted materials will be reviewed by teachers and literacy experts recruited by the SSPI and the SBE. The California Department of Education (CDE) will list on its Web site materials that are found to meet the criteria as resources that can help LEAs in their transition to the new California ELD standards.

ELD SIMR Standards Maps for 2002 and 2008 Adopted ELA/ELD Basic Programs

In addition to the evaluation criteria, the CDE will also be using new ELD SIMR standards maps that include the subset of standards associated with four key shifts outlined in the California ELD Standards, Appendix B. This review will determine alignment to that subset of standards.

Later this month, both the ELD SIMR Evaluation Criteria and the ELD SIMR Standards Maps will be posted to the CDE’s ELD SIMR Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/eldsimr.asp. The standards maps will be due with your materials, both in hard copy and a digital copy, the latter either burned onto a CD-ROM or as e-mail attachments.

The date for submission of the actual supplemental materials and the accompanying completed standards map is July 2013. More information about that submission will be provided in a later bulletin.

Schedule of Significant Events

A schedule of significant events (Attachment 2) for this review is included with this letter. The review process will be similar to that used during a state adoption of instructional materials, with panels of teachers and literacy experts, recruited by the SSPI and SBE, who will review the submitted supplemental instructional materials for alignment to the standards maps and the evaluation criteria. The training of reviewers and their deliberations will be held at the San Joaquin County Office of Education. All meetings will be open to the public.

Publisher Briefing: Standards Maps and Evaluation Criteria

The briefing for publishers is scheduled for March 2013 in Sacramento. This briefing will focus on the ELD SIMR standards maps and the evaluation criteria for the upcoming ELD SIMR. Your adoption managers and editorial staff who are working on supplements aligned to the 2012 California ELD Standards are strongly encouraged to attend. The specific meeting information is provided below.

Date

March 2013 (Specific date TBD)
Time: TBD ±

Location

California Department of Education
1430 N Street, Room 1101 (Board Room)
Sacramento, California 95814

RSVP: David Almquist, Publisher Liaison
dalmquis@cde.ca.gov

We ask that you please RSVP by February 15, 2013, so we can get an accurate count of materials to prepare for the briefing.

Contact Information

If you have any questions related to this bulletin, please contact Jim Long, Education Programs Consultant, Instructional Resources Unit, by phone at 916-323-4583 or by e-mail at jlong@cde.ca.gov. You may also contact David Almquist, Publisher Liaison, by phone at 916-319-0444 or by e-mail at dalmquis@cde.ca.gov.

Questions regarding the ELD SIMR may also be directed to eldsimr@cde.ca.gov. I encourage you to submit any questions in advance of the publisher briefing so we can include the answers in our presentation.

Sincerely,

Thomas Adams, Director
Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division

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