Identification and Placement

Initial Identification

San Mateo-Foster City School District is dedicated to providing the best education to our multilingual learner students. In order to do so, we must be able to identify them, place them accordingly, and reclassify them.

Enrollment Process

The initial identification of a multilingual learner begins with the enrollment process. This process starts at the school level when a parent or guardian fills out the enrollment form, which is also available online. It is recommended that the parent or guardian fill out the forms with support from a school representative if there are questions. During the enrollment process, the parents or guardians are asked to fill out the Home Language Survey (HLS), which is a questionnaire used to determine the student’s primary language and whether the student will need to take the Initial or Initial Alternate English Language Proficiency Assessment of California (ELPAC) (see 2022-2023 English Language Proficiency Assessments for California Information Guide, page 35).

 

Home Language Survey

The HLS survey consists of four main questions:

• What language did the student learn when he or she first began to speak?

• What language do you use most frequently to speak to this student?

• What language does this student most frequently use at home

• What is the language most often spoken by the adults at home?

If the answers to all four questions are “English”, then the students will be identified as English Only and will not have to take the English Language Proficiency test (ELPAC). 

If the answers to any of the first three questions are a language other than English, then the student will be assessed using the English Proficiency test (ELPAC). The Assessment, Data and Research team notifies the parents that the students will have to take the initial ELPAC test and determines the date of the assessment.

The parents or guardians have the right to amend the HLS at any time before the student takes the summative English language proficiency test (ELPAC). The schools must honor the parents' right to change the HLS. See Identification Flow Chart.