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Californians Together

Championing the Success of English Learners

Leo Martinez

The May revision is out!

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Greetings from Californians Together!

The May Revision is out and the marathon to meet the constitutional deadline of passing a budget by June 15th begins.The Governor’s 2023-24 proposed state budget includes a $306 billion spending plan, the budget’s shortall is greater than projected in January by $9.3 billion leaving the state with a $31.5 billion shortfall. Much like we saw in the January proposal, the May Revise includes budget shifts (that is shifting funding from one source to another), and  delayed implementation, revenue borrowing and/or reduction of funds to programs. It is clear that our budget problem is nowhere close to what we saw in 2009 given that years of cautions budgeting leading up to an economic downturn are reflected in the state’s reserves. The May Revision reflects $37.2 billion in total budgetary reserves which include: $22.3 billion in the Budget Stabilization Account, $10.7 billion in the Public School System Stabilization Account,  $450 million in the Safety Net Reserve and $3.8 billion in the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties. All of this to say, the Internal Revenue Service’s decision to delay 2023 tax filing deadlines adds an additional level of uncertainty given that we won’t have personal income tax numbers until then.

The May Revision includes a total of $127.7 billion for all K-12 education programs. We appreciate and applaud the Governor’s commitment to education, specifically the $20 million one-time appropriation for the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program which uses a “grow your own” approach to address the bilingual teacher shortage by allowing eligible local educational agencies to apply for state funds in order to provide professional learning opportunities to increase the number of bilingual authorized teachers.The Governor also keeps its January commitment to the $300 million ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund to establish an equity multiplier as an add-on to the LCFF to focus on closing opportunity gaps. We also appreciate the additional time for planning and implementation of the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program.

Read the full May revise here.

April is National Bilingual/Multilingual Learner Advocacy Month 2023

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The month of April is National Bilingual/Multilingual Learner Advocacy Month, a time to recognize the needs and achievements of bilingual and multilingual learners. Advocates and education systems should consider how to support these students best and ensure that all students have the necessary tools to receive a great education, regardless of their native language or country of origin. This is also a time for recognizing the unique needs of diverse language learners.

From early learners to newcomers of any age, advocates, educators, and policymakers must develop and leverage the appropriate tools, including new data collection, for supporting English language development while also creating a culture of respect for home language. During this month, we can commit to advocating for these students and their families. As part of this process, success should be celebrated. The Seal of Biliteracy, for instance, symbolizes the assets and skills of these students and serves as an important reminder of the immense value of multilingualism.

In honor of National Bilingual/Multilingual Learner Advocacy Month, here are some ways to get involved

  • Consider initiating and expanding biliteracy programs in your school/district
  • Creating Pathways to biliteracy beginning in Preschool
  • You can celebrate National Bilingual/Multilingual Learner Advocacy Month by purchasing our
    Seal of Biliteracy Medallions and publications.
  • Learn more about English learners and how to renew your commitment to celebrating and advocating for bilingual and multilingual learners.
  • Share our #NBMLAdvocacy social media toolkit.
  • Consider initiating and expanding biliteracy programs in your school/district
  • Creating Pathways to biliteracy beginning in Preschool

Check out the resources below for more information on multilingualism, bilingual education, newcomers, and finding student data. Californians Together has also created a social media toolkit that you can use to share these resources.

Highlights from Governor Newsom’s Proposed 2023-24 State Budget

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Greetings from Californians Together!

On Tuesday, January 10, Governor Newsom presented his proposed 2023-24 state budget that includes a $297 billion spending plan and an expected $22.5 billion shortfall. The overall budget theme was categorized by budget shifts (that is shifting funding from one source to another), and delayed implementation and/or reduction of programs. As a big picture, it included $7.1 billion in delayed spending, $2.6 billion in spending reductions, and $4.3 billion in budget shifts. As we had seen in previous budgets, many of the commitments were one-time spending so that in case of a budget shortfall like what is projected, these commitments could be reassessed. All of this to say, the May Revision will paint a clear picture of how much funding is to be allocated to specific programs and if there will be further cuts needed. 

We appreciate the Governor’s commitment to education, specifically the $300 million ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund to establish an equity multiplier as an add-on to the LCFF to focus on closing opportunity gaps. However, we are concerned that without a requirement to set goals to close achievement gaps within district plans, the funding will not have the desired impact. We applaud the continued dedication to the educator workforce and would highlight the need for targeted funding for bilingual teacher preparation programs. It is for this reason that Californians Together is exploring legislation that would require districts to set goals for closing opportunity gaps in their LCAPs and continue to support the reauthorization of the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program (BTPDP).

With a limited budget on the horizon, we will continue to fight for our English learners and ensure that budget cuts don’t widen the already existing academic and opportunity gaps. We will highlight the need to protect and expand proven approaches to educator professional learning, like the Educator Workforce Investment Grants. 

Click here to view our full highlights. 

Happy Holidays from Californians Together! ⛄

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Christmas This year has been filled with excitement and a deep commitment to supporting the needs of all English learners. We feel so grateful and inspired for your support and all of what we’ve accomplished and have had amazing opportunities in continuing our mission of championing the success of all English learners throughout California in 2022. Here are some of our accomplishments:

  • We partnered with 20 County Offices of Education across the state and served over 76% of California’s English learners. In total, EL RISE! served 547 Districts and organizations with 10,211 attendees from September 2021 through June 2022 and a total of 216 sessions were offered to administrators, teachers, counselors, school board members, parents, and community members through EL RISE!.
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  • We published five volumes of the English Learner Roadmap Implementation Guide and Toolkit for Administrators, authored by Dr. Laurie Olsen, which is designed to support administrators as they take up the challenge of leading and supporting the implementation of the EL Roadmap.
  • We released an English Learners in the Central Valley policy brief and held three listening sessions in the Central Valley to launch the development of a policy agenda to centralize the research, policy, and practice resources, and influence and shape the public narrative to reflect the diversity and assets of English learners in K-12 through higher education, and diversify the representation of English learner advocates across the Central Valley and statewide.
  • We continued to build our advocacy network by convening our third English Learner Advocacy Institute as part of our ever-growing English Learner Leadership and Legacy Initiative (ELLLI) network. Sixty teachers, parents, professors, county office and district staff, and allied organization representatives spent 4 days learning the history and lessons from the English learner movement, about current issues, and how to be an effective advocate.
  • With the Center for Equity for English Learners at Loyola Marymount University, we published a fourth review of the Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs), Search for Equity for English Learners: A Review of 2021-24 Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs), documenting the lack of goals, actions and services to address the needs of English learners.

These accomplishments would not be possible without you and the support and collaboration of our coalition members and donors. On behalf of Californians Together we want to express our sincere appreciation for helping us focus our common efforts in seeking to overcome and transform the harms of systemic racial, language, and cultural inequity in education and closing opportunity gaps from early childhood through post-secondary education. As you celebrate these special times with the people you love, we wish to thank you for all of your continued support this past year and in years past. We look forward to building momentum from this year’s efforts in supporting all English learners in 2023!

WestEd Launches Report Summarizing Recommendations Corresponding to Multilingual Learners with Suspected Disabilities in California

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It can be challenging to distinguish between young multilingual learners language learning needs and the presence of a potential disability. As a result, multilingual learners are often inaccurately referred for special education services orthey miss out on the services they do require. Either scenario has lasting consequences for these children and their academic trajectories.

WestEd has recently released a report entitled “Resourcing Supports for Young Multilingual Learners with Suspected Disabilities in California: Learning Collaborative Recommendations” written by Elizabeth Burr and Jamey Burho and launched a cross-sector Learning Collaborative to promote robust instruction and accurate disability identification for young (prek through grade 2) multilingual learners. The Learning Collaborative reviewed current research and practice and developed high-leverage, actionable resourcing recommendations. This report summarizes those recommendations and outlines corresponding funding streams in three areas:

  • Learning opportunities in preK
  • High-quality Tier 1 Core Instruction in elementary settings
  • Pre-referral supports, assessment, and special education referral

Click the link here to download the report and learn more