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DELAC reports progress: reclassification up, long‑term English learners down
Summary
DELAC co‑chairs presented the 2025‑26 District English Learner Advisory Committee report showing a significant increase in reclassification rates, a reduction of roughly 400 long‑term English learners over four years, and updates to reclassification criteria (Lexile replacing STAR IRL). Trustees asked for additional dual‑immersion participation data.
Parents serving on the District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC) presented the committee’s 2025‑26 report, highlighting progress on English learner reclassification and program supports across Newport‑Mesa Unified School District.
Karla Hernandez, DELAC co‑chair, told the board the district now counts just under 3,000 reclassified students and just over 700 students who enter schools classified as fluent. She said more than 30 languages are spoken by district English learners and noted that approximately 150 transitional‑kindergarten students are pending classification because the initial ELPAC was suspended earlier in the year.
Hernandez and DELAC parents welcomed two primary updates to the reclassification process: the district will use Lexile measures (from STAR or ESPAC) instead of the STAR instructional reading level as a basic skills indicator, and the ELPAC (English Language Proficiency Assessment for California) remains a threshold test (students must score an overall level four). The district also reported a reduction of about 400 long‑term English learners (LTELs) over four years, a change administrators credited to targeted supports and Teacher‑of‑Special‑Assignment (TOSA) interventions.
Trustee Ashley Anderson praised the work and asked for additional breakdowns for dual‑immersion participation at the middle and high‑school levels to identify where students are staying in the continuum and where attrition occurs. District staff said they would provide those numbers to trustees.
The DELAC presenters stressed outreach and parent engagement strategies, asked for more school‑site promotion of ELAC meetings, and noted the value of bilingual communications, resource fairs and training. The presentation included program details such as new Academic Language Development (ALD) classes at high schools and the district’s approach to LTEL prevention.
Next steps: district staff will share requested dual‑immersion participation data and continue DELAC outreach and training efforts.
