Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 2555 on Sept. 27, 2026, overhauling California’s 50-year-old system for reclassifying English learners. The law passed the Legislature unanimously — 40-0 in the Senate on Aug. 26 and 77-0 in the Assembly on Aug. 27 — and took effect immediately under an urgency clause. Nearly 1 million California students are designated as English learners, a category that determines how they receive language instruction and are assessed.
Single-test model replaces four criteria
Under the old process, California required four criteria for reclassification: an Overall Performance Level 4 on the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC), a teacher evaluation of curriculum mastery, a parent consultation, and a locally defined basic-skills assessment comparing the student to English-proficient peers of the same age. The last three criteria varied widely from district to district. The California Department of Education’s reclassification guidelines had documented this variation, and the bill’s backers said the system kept many students classified as English learners long after they had mastered the language.
Starting in the 2027-28 school year, AB 2555 eliminates all criteria except the ELPAC score. Any English learner who achieves the State Board of Education’s threshold — Overall Performance Level 4 — must be automatically reclassified as English proficient by the California Department of Education on or before May 30 of each year. Local educational agencies are then responsible for adjusting the student’s instructional program and notifying parents. The law makes the old reclassification procedures inoperative on July 1, 2027, and repeals them as of Jan. 1, 2028.
The bill analysis cited research showing that roughly half of all English learners who were not reclassified by the end of elementary school had already scored proficient on the state’s English language proficiency assessment. It also reported that many students scored proficient for multiple years before being reclassified.
Texas retains multiple criteria
Texas, one of the other large states with a substantial English-learner population, continues to use a multi-criteria process administered by a Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC). Students must score Advanced High on the TELPAS composite, meet the passing standard on the STAAR Reading assessment (or score at or above the 40th percentile on the Iowa Assessments for grades 1, 2, 11, and 12), and receive a satisfactory subjective teacher evaluation using the state rubric. Parental approval is required for exit, and reclassified students are monitored for two years. The Texas Education Agency’s guidance specifies that the LPAC must include a bilingual or ESL educator, a campus administrator, and a parent representative, and that it coordinates with ARD committees for dually identified students. That system mirrors California’s former approach of layering teacher judgment, academic assessment, and parent input on top of the proficiency test.
AB 2555’s shift to a single criterion moves California away from that model and toward a fully automated, state-run process. No other large state has adopted a comparable single-test reclassification system.
Research shows no benefit to extended status
A 2026 analysis by WestEd and Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) found that English learners scoring at ELPAC Overall Performance Level 4 were at least as likely as their English-only peers with similar backgrounds to meet the proficiency standard on the Smarter Balanced ELA assessment. This held across levels of parental education, disability status, and socioeconomic disadvantage. The analysis found no academic benefit from remaining in English-learner status for an extra year after scoring Level 4.
Separate research by Faulkner-Bond, cited in the Assembly committee analysis, concluded that for English learners not reclassified, there was no academic benefit to staying in the category another year. The study said that using a basic-skills assessment as an additional reclassification criterion may be redundant, unnecessary, or possibly unfair for English learners, noting that locally established requirements sometimes held them to a higher standard than their English-only peers.
Research by Mercado-Garcia and Umansky, both cited in the committee analysis, found that the basic-skills criterion is a major barrier to reclassification for students who already score proficient on the English proficiency assessment. Hill’s research (2023) found the parent consultation criterion was considered of limited importance in the reclassification process and was implemented unevenly across districts. Studies by Estrada (2014) and Thompson (2015), also cited by the committee, found significant gaps in reclassification rates by home language: Spanish-speaking students were less likely to be reclassified than other English learners, even after controlling for other factors.
The law includes several oversight measures. Reclassified students must be monitored for four years to ensure English proficiency is not a barrier to academic success. The State Board of Education will identify a monitoring instrument, and the California Department of Education will post reclassification rate data. An evaluation of the changes is also mandated. For English learners with individualized education programs, an alternate reclassification pathway takes effect July 1, 2028, allowing students who have used all IEP-required accommodations and scored one level below the ELPAC threshold to reclassify through alternate coursework and performance tasks.