VADLEN Position Statement for HB1679 & SB 753 The Virginia Dual Educator Network (VADLEN) fully supports Senate Bill 753 and House Bill 1679. These bills advocate for the development and administration of Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments in the most commonly spoken native languages other than English in Virginia. This initiative seeks to provide English Language Learner (ELL) students with equitable access to education by enabling them to demonstrate their knowledge without being hindered by language barriers. Notably, thirty-one states and Washington, D.C. already provide native language standardized testing, setting a precedent for Virginia to follow. By offering SOL assessments in multiple languages, SB753 and HB1679 recognize the linguistic diversity of Virginia’s student population and foster inclusivity. This approach allows the Commonwealth to leverage the full potential of its residents by ensuring that ELL students are assessed based on their subject knowledge rather than their English proficiency. Research from the Migration Policy Institute highlights the importance of native language assessments in providing accurate measures of ELL students’ academic capabilities. Additionally, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) emphasizes the need to support ELL students by promoting policies that ensure fair and meaningful evaluation. These findings reinforce the value of implementing native language SOL assessments to advance educational equity. Implementing this legislation is expected to lead to better educational outcomes for ELL students, fostering a more inclusive and supportive learning environment. It aligns with Virginia’s commitment to maintaining high educational standards and ensuring equal opportunities for all students, regardless of their linguistic background. Supporting SB753 and HB1679 is a significant step toward creating a more equitable and inclusive education system in Virginia, ensuring that all students have the opportunity to thrive academically and reach their full potential. Dr. Bettina Staudt President of the Virginia Dual Language Educator Network

Please take serious the comments from Allison Carneiro da Silva from Hanover County. She is speaking the truth! As usual the Left is always lowering standards and expectations for some people. For example, the leftist education system has been using “Latinx.” It is insulting to many people in the Hispanic and Latin communities. Even one of the Spanish translators in Henrico said she was disgusted by this word. Please stop this nonsense, and wasting our taxpayer dollars. There are many students who don’t speak Spanish, but they an indigenous language. Why are ESL teachers teaching English? Again, Democrats don’t think through the facts and make irrational decisions. We all suffer in the end.

Dear House of Delegates, I am disheartened by the lack of high expectations and standards for Virginia’s schools. Many politicians and people believe throwing money at the issue will fix it. Nope Where are the parents, guardians of the students who are being disruptive and causing harm? It was Never about the salary! It was always about the poor policies, low standards and expectations for the students. Stop making excuses for some and not the others. All schools must follow The Student Code of Conduct. Fact: there are teachers and administrators who are too lazy to follow the policies and be consistent. I refuse to let this go because I know we must be fair. Schools that allow bad behavior instead of discipline and accountability are shameful. Look at our society now. Please stop covering up bad behaviors with low standards, excuses, and now metal detectors. Stop lowering standards in one place and raising standards in another. Encourage hard work and dedication without government dependency. Please stop dividing us into groups based on race, religion, gender, etc. Where is the home?

Hamkae Center supports accommodations for multilingual learners have access to include students who would otherwise be unable to demonstrate their knowledge and skills under standard conditions meaningfully. This bill would make the SOL available in certain native languages, giving access and accommodation to students on a path to English proficiency.

Hamkae Center supports this bill

VACIR supports HB1679, because students who are learning Engliah deserve time and support to understand standardized testing. Providing tests in the students native language may give students a better chance to achieve academically, until they are able to be proficient in English.

I strongly support for the native language assessments bill, but it should be modified for only math and science exams in Spanish. Thankfully, the new accountability system will issue school ratings consistent with 22+ year old federal civil rights law, which includes English learners 3 semesters after entering a school in the United States. Such inclusion has received the strong public endorsement of the 2 major national English learner civil rights organizations, Migration Policy Institute and UnidosUS, as well as the major national educational civil rights group The Education Trust (https://townhall.virginia.gov/l/viewcomments.cfm?commentid=226985). The new accountability system will result in the reallocation of billions of public dollars as we’ll finally have a system to accurately identify schools needing support. Notably, Virginia's accountability revamp has the support of the Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education under President Obama and a Virginia public school parent for 6 years then. Native language assessments are fiscally conservative. Beginning English Learners often are failing SOLs because of lack of English knowledge, not content knowledge. If a school system is educating English Learners properly, funds should not be mistakenly directed to those schools at the cost of helping actual struggling kids at other schools. My Senator Barbara Favola has proposed a budget amendment for $300K to fund such exam translations for Math and Science in Spanish only, which I strongly support. As of 2020, the majority of states funded such assessments, including red states likes Texas, Wyoming, Idaho, and Nebraska. I would refer you to Migration Policy Institute's 2020 white paper on native language assessments (https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/MPI-native-lang-assessments_FINAL.pdf).

Comments Document

I am writing in support of HB 1679 but with a request that it be amended to duplicate SB 753. As a Virginian and a world language educator I applaud the introduction of these bills that, if passed, will allow all students in the Commonwealth to demonstrate their learning without the possible impediment of low English proficiency. This is an excellent first step in addressing the needs of students who have already received instruction in their home/native language. As of spring 2020, 31 states and the District of Columbia offer native language assessments. (Native Language Assessments for K-12 English Learners: Policy Considerations and State Practices/https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/native-language-assessments-english-learners) There are a number of research findings that indicate that student learning can be more accurately assessed when accommodations are made for low English proficiency, either through home/native language assessments or through assistance in interpreting the meaning of the questions asked (online glosses, cultural explanations, adaptation of the English language used, etc.) The attached table shows the kinds of accommodations that can be made to address the needs of all students. Again, I support the intent of this bill and SB 753 and hope that they pass. It is important to realize, however, that other steps must be taken to assess the learning of students with low literacy in their home/native language and of those non-ELLs receiving instruction in dual-immersion programs. Thank you for your consideration.

My name is Allison Carneiro da Silva and I serve as the Curriculum Specialist for World Languages and ESOL and the Title III Coordinator in Hanover County Public Schools. I am also the Vice President of VOWLS, the Virginia Organization of World Language Supervisors. I reside at 7700 Pinehill Drive, Richmond, VA 23228. In speaking with my counterparts in neighboring school divisions, we share concerns about how these tests would be developed and delivered. We all feel similarly, in that we worry that these bills are being written with good intentions, but with a lack of understanding of how this would really have to be done. I am curious about the inspiration behind these companion bills and how they came about, and where the resources will come from to make these tests a reality. If a child has been learning math in Spanish in a dual language immersion program since early on, it makes sense that the test be available in Spanish. However, if a student has been learning math in English and we don't know if they can read in Arabic (or we don't know how well), it could in fact be detrimental for the student to test in Arabic. In our ESOL programs throughout the state, we assess students' proficiency in English when they enter our schools and each year thereafter. We do not measure their proficiency in their home languages, so we do not know how well they read or if they know academic vocabulary in that language. Speaking a language at home or with friends does not equal academic proficiency and it does not guarantee literacy in that language. Additionally, creating the test in another language is a beast of a process and must be done correctly. You cannot simply translate the test into Korean. If a student needs the text to be in Korean because they don't know English, they also will be unfamiliar with the cultural context of some of the texts, meaning the situation would also have to be changed to one that is relevant to Korean. There is also the question of equity. If tests are offered in Spanish and Arabic because we have many speakers of those languages in Virginia, what about the students who speak Dari or Gujarati? They will not necessarily have this option. I feel like these bills are fraught with opportunities to complicate things further and take the focus away from what we really need to be doing, which is making the current tests accessible to all learners. What tools can be provided in the testing platform (such as an online dictionary or other scaffolding)? Can language be simplified for ELs at lower proficiency levels? Teachers often ask for instructional materials to be translated, thinking that will be helpful to students, and ESOL teachers regularly must redirect them to provide scaffolds and supports so that students can learn English. As we know, you don't learn Spanish by speaking English, and you don't learn English by speaking Spanish. Providing tests in other languages will take a great deal of training and financial resources that might be better spent training teachers to work with ELs and providing educational resources. All of this being said, I am not necessarily against this proposed legislation. I just want to make sure it is being done correctly if it will be done. I feel strongly that the voice of language educators must be included in the development of any bill around EL instruction and assessment. I appreciate your time and consideration.