By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-09-29 01:26:40 | Updated at 2026-09-29 02:01:22
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California students learning English at school will now find it easier to been deemed proficient in their second language under a new law.
The law, Assembly Bill 2555, will mean it’s easier for nearly one million students to prove they have mastered English and move out of specialized language instruction.
Under the overhaul, students who earn the highest score of level four on the state-approved English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC), will be eligible for reclassification without having to clear additional hurdles.
The change eliminates a patchwork of teacher evaluations, parent consultations and district-selected academic assessments that critics claimed left English-proficient students stuck with the designation for months or even years.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill on on Sunday.
“It is a big win,” Nancy Villarreal, executive director of the Parent Organization Network, told The Los Angeles Times.
“This bill will remove all the extra hoops they have to jump through, but also make sure that the students will continue having some extra support.”
Between 2022 and 2024, an estimated 37,000 California students reached the highest level on the English proficiency assessment, yet were still classified as English learners the following school year, according to University of Oregon research.
The California Department of Education found students waited an average of 220 days to be reclassified, while one in 10 waited at least 532 days, nearly three times the length of California’s 180-day school year.
Some 200,000 students had remained English learners for six years or longer, while research cited by the Assembly Education Committee found nearly half of long-term English learners had already demonstrated English proficiency.
Remaining in the program could also carry academic consequences. Students can lose room in their schedules for electives or more advanced courses, particularly in middle and high school.
University of Oregon researcher Ilana Umansky told EdSource that keeping students classified as English learners after they’ve demonstrated proficiency can affect “your sense of belonging in school, whether you feel like you’re valued, whether you want to be there” and whether students can enroll in electives.
The old system required students to clear four separate criteria before being reclassified.
In addition to scoring level four on the ELPAC, students needed a positive teacher evaluation, parent consultation and proof of “basic skills” through measures determined by individual districts.
That created a statewide medley of requirements.
A 2026 Public Policy Institute of California survey found districts used 24 different assessments, along with other exams and report cards, to determine whether fifth-graders met the basic-skills requirement.
Maryana Khames, who arrived in the US from Iraq at 12 as a UN refugee and spoke no English, told lawmakers at an April hearing she remained in English learner classes even as her language skills improved, limiting her access to other courses.
Khames was only finally reclassified in eighth grade, at which point she was given access to more rigorous classes.
“I went from being an English learner to an honors student over the summer,” Khames, now a UC Davis law student, said.
The new law brings California closer to the approach used by 44 other states, which rely on a single English-proficiency requirement, according to research cited during debate over the measure.
California has 925,907 students classified as current English learners for the 2025-26 school year, according to the state Department of Education.
Students who exit the program will still be monitored for four years, providing a safety net for those who need additional language assistance.
The streamlined rules will also apply retroactively, meaning students who earned qualifying ELPAC scores in spring 2026 can be reclassified for the current school year.
For thousands of California students, passing one test could now mean more than shedding a label, it could open the door to electives, advanced courses and academic opportunities that previously remained out of reach.
