Education Code section 313
(a)
Each school district that has one or more pupils who are English learners, and, to the extent required by federal law, each county office of education and each charter school, shall assess the English language development of each pupil in order to determine the level of proficiency for purposes of this chapter.(b)
The department, with the approval of the state board, shall establish procedures for conducting the assessment required pursuant to subdivision (a) and for the reclassification of a pupil from English learner to English proficient.(c)
Commencing with the 2000–01 school year until subdivision (d) is implemented, the assessment shall be conducted upon initial enrollment, and annually, thereafter, during a period of time determined by the Superintendent and the state board. The annual assessments shall continue until the pupil is redesignated as English proficient. The assessment shall primarily use the English language development test identified or developed pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 60810) of Part 33 of Division 4 of Title 2.(d)
(1)This subdivision shall not be implemented unless and until the department receives written documentation from the United States Department of Education that federal law permits the implementation of the changes set forth in this subdivision or until the 2013–14 school year, whichever occurs later.(2)
The summative assessment shall be conducted annually during a four-month period after January 1 determined by the Superintendent with the approval of the state board. Annual assessments shall continue until the pupil is redesignated as English proficient. The annual assessment shall primarily use the English language development assessment identified or developed pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 60810) of Part 33 of Division 4 of Title 2.(3)
The assessment for initial identification shall be conducted upon the initial enrollment of a pupil in order to provide information to be used to determine if the pupil is an English learner.(A)
If the initial enrollment of a pupil occurs on a date outside of the testing period identified pursuant to paragraph (2), the prior year’s annual assessment for the grade in which the pupil is enrolling shall be used for this purpose.(B)
If the initial enrollment of a pupil occurs on a date within the testing period identified pursuant to paragraph (2), the initial assessment of the pupil shall be conducted as part of the annual assessment conducted pursuant to paragraph (2).(4)
Notwithstanding paragraph (2), a school district shall assess the English language development of a pupil pursuant to this section no more than one time per school year for each assessment purpose pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 60810) of Part 33 of Division 4 of Title 2.(e)
The assessments conducted pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be conducted in a manner consistent with federal statutes and regulations.(f)
(1)An English learner pupil who, on the 2025–26 or 2026–27 administration of a summative assessment, meets the score established by the state board for purposes of reclassification on the assessment identified or developed pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 60810) of Part 33 of Division 4 of Title 2, or, if applicable, meets the score established by the state board for purposes of reclassification on the statewide alternate assessment for English language proficiency developed pursuant to Section 11518.30 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, shall be reclassified as English proficient. The pupil shall be considered reclassified as English proficient as of the day after the pupil demonstrated proficiency through one of these assessments.(2)
A pupil who, on the 2025–26 administration of a summative assessment, met the requirements of subparagraph (1) and did not reclassify in the 2025–26 school year, shall be reclassified as English proficient on or before January 31, 2027, by the local educational agency, as specified in subparagraph (1).(g)
This section does not preclude a school district or county office of education from testing English learners more than once in a school year if the school district or county office of education chooses to do so.(h)
For purposes of this section, “initial enrollment” does not include enrollment in a transitional kindergarten program.(i)
This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2027, and, as of January 1, 2028, is repealed.
Source:
Section 313, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=EDC§ionNum=313. (updated Sep. 27, 2026; accessed Oct. 19, 2026).
