From the District

HOME-LANGUAGE SURVEY

The purpose of this survey is to determine the primary or home language of the student. This survey is given to all students enrolled in the school district/charter school. The HLS is administered once, upon initial enrollment in South Carolina, and should remain in the student’s permanent record. 

If a language other than English is recorded for ANY of the survey questions on the registration form, the appropriate identification screening assessment (WIDA SCREENER) will be administered to determine whether or not the student qualifies for additional English language development support. 

WIDA SCREENER

The WIDA SCREENER is the identification screening assessment used to determine whether or not the student qualifies for additional English language development support. 

MULTILINGUAL LEARNER PROGRAM

The MULTILINGUAL LEARNER PROGRAM, formerly known as ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages), is the program that provides additional English language development support for qualifying learners. Participation in the program depends on the information entered in the Home-Language Survey at registration (first academic record - not most recent enrollment) and the WIDA Screener assessment result.

WAIVER

A parent/guardian may decline MLP services for their child. The district must have the parent/guardian provide written documentation indicating this decision, in which a WAIVER must be signed.  Waivers are only valid for the school year they are signed in and must be completed annually by the parent/guardian if services are being waived. The WAIVER does not remove the student from the Multilingual Learner Program. The student is still required to take the ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 assessment.

ACCESS FOR ELLS 2.0 ASSESSMENT

ACCESS for ELLs is an assessment administered to all students in grades K-12 who are determined to have limited English proficiency - based upon the completion of a Home Language Survey and the initial assessment of their English proficiency. This assessment is administered each spring. This includes those students whose parents have waived direct MLP services. 

Students with limited English proficiency must continue to take the ACCESS for ELLs assessment until they meet the requirements for full English proficiency as established by the Office of Federal and State Accountability. 

SC - ML PROGRAM EXIT CRITERIA

To meet exit criteria for SC, a student must score the following on the ACCESS for ELLs assessment: 

Overall PL ≥ 4.4 AND all domain scores are ≥ 4.0. 

The student will then be monitored for four years after meeting the reclassification criteria. Students may still receive accommodations as needed during their monitoring years.