ELAC and DELAC FAQs

Do English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC) and District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC) requirements, laws, and regulations still apply during the COVID-19 physical school closures?

On March 17, Governor Gavin Newsom signed executive order N-29-20 stating that, subject to notice and accessibility requirements set forth in the order, “a local legislative body or state body is authorized to hold public meetings via teleconferencing and to make public meetings accessible telephonically or otherwise electronically to all members of the public seeking to observe and to address the local legislative body or state body.” On April 23, Governor Newsom signed executive order N-56-20, which extends this language about public meetings to ELACs and DELACs. This means that ELAC and DELAC meetings, which are public meetings, may be held virtually, provided the local educational agency (LEA) follows the requirements specified in N-29-20, including providing parents with advance notice of the meeting time, agenda, and teleconferencing information.

Executive order N-29-20 (PDF) (see paragraph 3) and Executive Order N-56-20 (PDF) (see paragraph 10) are available on the State of California website.

Please note that prior to these two orders, Governor Newsom signed N-25-20, which addressed public meetings in paragraph 11. Although the language is similar, paragraph 3 of N-29-20 withdraws and supersedes the language in the previous order.

Are LEAs required to hold ELAC and DELAC meetings during the COVID-19 physical school closures?

Yes. LEAs should hold ELAC and DELAC meetings if the legally required tasks have not yet been completed for the 2019–20 school year. The ELAC and DELAC required tasks can be found on the California Department of Education (CDE) English Learner Advisory Committee web page and on the CDE District English Learner Advisory Committee web page.  While ELAC and DELAC meetings are public meetings, only elected ELAC representatives and officially designated DELAC representatives from each school are required to participate in order to meet the required tasks.

May ELAC and DELAC meetings be held virtually?

Yes. Meetings may be conducted remotely (e.g. landline phone) or via any virtual platform accessible on participants’ mobile phones, tablets, and/or computers. This includes social networking platforms, which may be more accessible than virtual meeting technology for some parents. Information and assistance on obtaining internet access for parents can be found on the CDE Getting Internet Access: Available Plans web page.

How can LEAs document virtual meetings?

Evidence of meetings and attendees may be in the form of a recorded audio/video file of the meeting itself, recording the names of participants from verbal roll call in meeting minutes, or a screenshot, a printout of participants signed in to the meeting platform, or a combination of these formats.