Division of Multilingual Learners

Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

SY 2020-21 ELL Identification and Placement Process

OVERVIEW
This document is designed to provide school-facing staff with detailed guidance on the English Language
Learner (ELL) identification and placement process in School Year (SY) 2020-21 in light of COVID-19 related
policy changes. This document outlines provisional and formal ELL identification processes and which
components may be completed remotely.
Note: This guidance has been updated as of 10/21/20 to clarify policy in place for SY 2020-21. This
document will be updated as new guidance is released from NYSED. Any updates will be announced in
future editions of Principals Digest.

QUICK LINKS
ELL IDENTIFICATION TIMELINE ................................................................................................................. 2
ELL IDENTIFICATION PROCESS (New as of 10/21/2020) ........................................................................... 2
Formal ELL Identification ...................................................................................................................... 2
Formally Identified ELL students ........................................................................................................... 3
Provisional ELL Identification ................................................................................................................ 3
Provisionally Identified ELL Students..................................................................................................... 4
HOME LANGUAGE IDENTIFICATION SURVEY (HLIS) (Updated as of 10/21/2020) ...................................... 5
Provisional HLIS administration ............................................................................................................ 5
Formal HLIS administration ...................................................................................................................... 6
DETERMINE NYSITELL ELIGIBILITY (New as of 10/21/2020)....................................................................... 7
Non-Eligibility to Take the NYSITELL ...................................................................................................... 7
NYSITELL/SPANISH LAB ADMINISTRATION (Updated as of 10/21/2020) ................................................... 7
Identification Assessment Answer Documents (Updated as of 10/21/2020) ......................................... 8
NYSED NYSITELL WAIVER (Updated as of 10/21/2020) ............................................................................. 9
Eligibility for NYSED NYSITELL Waiver (New as of 10/21/2020) ........................................................... 10
Parent Notifications Regarding NYSED NYSITELL Waiver (New as of 10/21/2020) ............................... 10
Retaining Records (New as of 10/21/2020) ......................................................................................... 10
PARENT ORIENTATION (New as of 10/21/2020) ..................................................................................... 11
PLACEMENT INTO AN ELL PROGRAM (New as of 10/21/2020) ............................................................... 12
SUMMARY OF THE ELL IDENTIFICATION PROCESS .................................................................................. 13
Provisional Identification Process ....................................................................................................... 13
Formal Identification Process.............................................................................................................. 15

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 1

 Division of Multilingual Learners
Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

ELL IDENTIFICATION TIMELINE

As per NYSED guidance, schools must identify and place ELLs into an ELL program within 30 school days of
the start of the 2020-21 school year, which began on September 16. This timeline applies to students who
enrolled between the transition to remote learning in Spring 2020 and the 20th school day of the 2020-21
school year, and includes incoming students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP). This timeline
includes remote instruction days. Therefore, based on the current school calendar:
 All students enrolled between March 2, 2020 and October 15, 2020 must be identified and placed
by October 29, 2020.
 All students who enroll after October 15, 2020 must be identified and placed within the standard
10 school days (or 20 school days for incoming students with IEPs).

ELL IDENTIFICATION PROCESS (New as of 10/21/2020)

The ELL identification process is the process by which students are evaluated to determine if they are ELLs
and entitled to ELL services.

Formal ELL Identification

Formal ELL identification consists of 8 mandated steps as outlined in the Policy and Reference Guide for
MLLs/ELLs and 2 additional steps that may need to be completed on an as-needed basis. Key items among
these steps are:
 The Home Language Identification Survey (HLIS) which must be completed in-person by qualified
personnel. 1 Therefore, qualified personnel must meet with the parent/guardian to complete the
HLIS in its entirety.
 Language Proficiency Team (LPT) process for incoming students with an IEP.
 Individual interview with students in English and in the student’s home language by qualified
personnel. When a school can document that video conferencing was used to remotely conduct
an individual interview during a school closure, this can be used as the formal individual interview.
 In-person administration of NYSITELL to eligible students.
The formal ELL identification process, which consists of eight mandated steps should be completed for the
following students:

1 As per NYSED, for the purposes of HLIS, qualified personnel means: A New York State certified bilingual or English to Speakers of Other
Languages (ESOL) teacher who is fluent in the home language of the student and parent/guardian or uses a qualified interpreter/translator
of the language or mode of communication the student and parent/guardian best understands OR a NYS certified teacher who has been
trained in cultural responsiveness, language development, and the needs of ELLs and who is proficient in the home language of the student
or parent/guardian or uses a qualified interpreter/translator of the language or mode of communication the student or parent/guardian best
understands.)

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 2

 Division of Multilingual Learners
Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

 Newly admitted students enrolled between March 2, 2020 to September 15, 2020 who were
provisionally identified and are now participating in either the blended learning or fully remote
model.
 Newly admitted students as of September 16, 2020 and forward.
 Fully remote students whose parents completed a NYSED NYSITELL waiver; these students must
be formally identified upon return to in-person school.
Please refer to the Policy and Reference Guide for MLLs/ELLs for detailed guidance on each step of the
ELL identification process.

Formally Identified ELL students

As per NYSED, students are considered ELLs once they have taken the NYSITELL and have scored below
Commanding on the exam.
 If a student scores below Commanding on the NYSITELL, the school should complete all steps of
the formal identification process as outlined in the Policy and Reference Guide for MLLs/ELLs. As
per Commissioner’s Regulation (CR) Part 154, students identified as ELLs as a result of the NYSITELL
must be served according to their grade and proficiency level.
 If a student does not take the NYSITELL due to the NYSED NYSITELL waiver, the student should
remain provisionally identified as an ELL until the return to in-person school.
 Upon return to in-person school, the formal ELL identification process should resume and be
completed within 10 school days.

Provisional ELL Identification

During Spring 2020, the formal ELL identification process was paused for all newly admitted students due
to COVID-19 school closures and policy changes. During that time, students admitted between March 2,
2020 to June 26, 2020 were required to be provisionally identified. Beginning in SY 2020-21, the following
students may also be provisionally identified as ELLs:
 Fully remote students whose parents completed the NYSED NYSITELL Waiver; OR
 Students whose schools have moved to fully remote due to a COVID-19 closure (applicable only to
the days during which a school building is closed).
Provisional ELL identification consists of:
 Obtaining the provisional home language of a student by either sending page 2 of the HLIS, or
the questions themselves to parents/guardians and collecting responses through email. Where
possible, this can be facilitated via a remote synchronous meeting or phone with the parent/
guardian in order to ensure information is accurately captured. Translation and interpretation
must be provided in the parent’s preferred language of communication. As this is an informal
process, parents must not sign the HLIS at this time.

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 3

 Division of Multilingual Learners
Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

 Conducting an individual interview with students remotely in English and in the student’s home
language, by qualified personnel from the school. The interview should include a review of the
student’s abilities or work samples including: reading and writing in English; reading and writing in
the student’s home language; mathematics. These items are collected or generated during the
interview, and can include writing samples or exercises completed at the time of the interview
(parents/guardians can submit the work samples through email, through pictures of the student’s
work and/or digital platforms schools are currently using for remote learning). When a school can
document that video conferencing was used to remotely conduct an individual interview during a
school closure, this can be used as the formal individual interview for the formal identification
process.
 Entering provisional home language code in ATS. A qualified personnel trained in the ELL
identification process should be consulted to determine provisional home language. If this
information needs to be updated, schools can follow the process for home language changes.
Schools should submit page 2 of the HLIS along with evidence of the remote synchronous meeting
with the parent/ guardian and student as described above.
 Language Proficiency Team (LPT) process for incoming students with an IEP.
 Parent orientations are appropriate and recommended during provisional identification (during
school closures or for students in a fully remote model with a NYSED NYSITELL waiver); the final
identification process must be completed or confirmed in person. Schools may collect parent
choice but should not update the parent choice in ATS until the formal identification process is
completed.
In accordance with NYSED policy, the Home Language Identification Survey must be completed in-person
by a trained and certified pedagogue in order to be considered formal; therefore, the steps described in
this section will only result in a provisional home language. If a student does not have the HLIS completed
in-person by qualified personnel, the student remains provisionally identified as an ELL.
This provisional ELL identification process should not be understood as the formal ELL identification
process; rather, this provisional process informs which students must be screened with the NYSITELL upon
return to in-person school. Schools must maintain all documents related to its students, including the
provisional HLIS, the individual interview, information collected that may assist in identifying Students
with Interrupted/Inconsistent Formal Education (SIFE), and any other records generated as part of this
provisional identification process.

Provisionally Identified ELL Students

Provisionally identified ELLs are:
 Students who have not had their HLIS completed in person OR had their HLIS completed in person
by qualified personnel
AND
 Students who have a NYSED NYSITELL waiver.

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 4

 Division of Multilingual Learners
Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

As a temporary departure from NYC DOE practice, students who are provisionally identified as English
language learners (ELLs) on the basis of the provisional HLIS and individual interview, both of which may
have been conducted remotely, may receive English as a New Language services and/or bilingual
education in accordance with a recommendation resulting from the outcome of these two
processes. Schools may select to remotely administer an available assessment (e.g. ELL periodic
assessment or school-designed assessment) to provisional ELLs in order to assess English language
proficiency in all four modalities (reading, writing, speaking and listening); whenever possible, student’s
proficiency in home language should also be assessed. Schools can use the results of these assessments
to inform provisional placement in a bilingual and/ or ENL setting. If schools do not otherwise assess a
student’s English Language Proficiency, then they must serve students at the Entering level. In either case,
schools must maintain records; and inform parents of the services their child will receive and must do so
in the parent’s preferred language. Due to this COVID-19 related temporary departure, NYC DOE systems
and reports (e.g. ATS, EDUR) will continue to default provisionally identified students to an Entering level.
Schools must complete the formal ELL identification process for all provisionally identified ELLs upon their
return to in-person school. After taking the NYSITELL, students should be served based on the proficiency
level achieved on the test.

HOME LANGUAGE IDENTIFICATION SURVEY (HLIS) (Updated as of 10/21/2020)

As per NYSED guidance, parents/guardians of all newly enrolled students must review and sign the Home
Language Identification Survey (HLIS) in person with qualified personnel. Schools should design safety
procedures to schedule parents/guardians and students to come to schools for ELL identification. It is
recommended that schools prioritize families that have opted for blended learning for the earliest
appointments. This process must be completed in person for students who have opted into blended
learning. The parents/guardians of students who have opted for the fully remote model have the following
options:
 Parents can choose to complete the HLIS in person. Parents should contact the school to arrange
scheduling.
 Parents can choose provisional HLIS administration and can complete the NYSED NYSITELL waiver.

Provisional HLIS administration

The following steps should be completed as part of the provisional HLIS process:
 Complete page 2 of the Home Language Identification Survey (HLIS) with the parent/guardian and
qualified personnel to determine a provisional home language.
 Parents/guardians should either scan or take a picture of page 2 of the HLIS (both parts 1 and 2)
and email the provisional HLIS back to the school. The provisional HLIS should not be signed or
dated and page 1 should not be completed as part of the provisional identification process. All
communication must follow security guidelines in order to protect student and family information.
For information about how to securely share student records, schools should refer to this Guidance

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 5

 Division of Multilingual Learners
Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

for Sharing Student Records with Families During Remote Learning. For questions about student
record-sharing guidance, schools should contact their BCO academic policy and systems lead. For
further guidance, contact your senior field counsel.
 Conduct an individual interview with student remotely.
 Once the steps indicated above have been completed, update ATS with the provisional home
language (HL) code.
Note: This provisional HLIS process may be completed through a remote synchronous meeting. Ensure
interpretation or translation services are available to communicate with the family in their preferred
language.

RESOURCES: The Home Language Identification Survey and translations are available on the Parent
Notification InfoHub. Please visit the Translations and Interpretation InfoHub for more information on
translation and interpretation services. For information about how to securely share student records,
schools should refer to Guidance for Sharing Student Records with Families During Remote Learning.

Formal HLIS administration

In order to resume the formal ELL identification process, the HLIS must be completed in person with
qualified personnel. Please follow the steps below for students who were provisionally identified and have
a provisional home language:
 Revisit the HLIS completed during the provisional identification process. Complete page 1, review
the responses provided on page 2, and obtain the parent’s signature and date on page 2.
 In case schools erroneously completed page 1 and entered a two-letter HL code on page 1, it
should be crossed out with one line initialed by the teacher and the correct HL code should be
entered once the formal identification process has been completed in its entirety upon return to
school (September 16 and forward).
 Update the home language into ATS.
 Once the HLIS has been formally completed by qualified personnel, update the HLIS flag on the
ATS BIOU screen to “Y”.
Note: The HLIS must be completed in person. Ensure interpretation or translation services are available
to communicate with the family in their preferred language.

RESOURCES: The Home Language Identification Survey and translations are available on the Parent
Notification InfoHub. Please visit the Translations and Interpretation InfoHub for more information on
translation and interpretation services. Please refer to the Playbook for Principals for safety protocols.

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 6

 Division of Multilingual Learners
Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

DETERMINE NYSITELL ELIGIBILITY (New as of 10/21/2020)

Once the HLIS has been completed in person by qualified personnel, the individual interview has been
conducted and documented, and the HL code has been entered in ATS, schools must determine NYSITELL
eligibility for each student with a home language other than English.
Schools should follow the steps outlined below if a student is determined not eligible to take the NYSITELL.

Non-Eligibility to Take the NYSITELL

The ELLO screen should only be used in cases where students have been formally administered the HLIS
in person. Schools should access the ELLO screen for students:
 whose home language is other than English; and,
 who have been determined to not have English language acquisition needs.
These students are not ELLs and do not need to take the NYSITELL.

RESOURCES: Please refer to the Policy & Reference Guide for MLLs/ELLs for additional guidance on the
ELLO screen.

NYSITELL/SPANISH LAB ADMINISTRATION (Updated as of 10/21/2020)

The NYSITELL and Spanish LAB can only be administered in person as part of the formal ELL identification
process to students whose HLIS was completed in person. Students with a provisional home language
from a provisional HLIS, should not be administered the NYSITELL.
Schools are encouraged to design schedules for NYSITELL and Spanish LAB administration. The Spanish
LAB is required for ELLs with a home language of Spanish and follows the same timeline indicated above.
Qualified personnel that may administer the NYSITELL should be teachers or administrators able to
carry out standard examination procedures and should have special training in administering
the NYSITELL or NYSESLAT and may include:
 NYS certified English to Speakers of Other Languages or Bilingual Education teachers
 NYS certified teachers
 NYS certified teachers who have been trained in cultural competency, language development, and
the needs of English Language Learners (ELLs)/Multilingual Learners (MLLs)
Remote administration of the NYSITELL and Spanish LAB is not allowed because both parties must be
present in person. For questions about NYSITELL training, contact your B/CO Director of MLLs/ELLs.
Schools must inform parents/guardians of the results of the NYSITELL and ELL status within five school
days of ELL determination using the NYC DOE standard parent notification letters. These letters must be
provided in the parents’ preferred language; translations are available on the Multilingual Learner Parent
Notification Letters InfoHub.

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 7

 Division of Multilingual Learners
Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

RESOURCES: Parent notification letters are available on the Parent Notification InfoHub. For health and
safety protocols, please refer to the Playbook for Principals.

Identification Assessment Answer Documents (Updated as of 10/21/2020)

NYSITELL
Schools do not have the ability to print NYSITELL answer documents for newly admitted students who
entered the DOE between March 2, 2020 and June 26, 2020. On October 5, Central sent the answer
documents to the ATS printer of each respective school for these students, in cases where no answer
sheets had been previously printed. If for any reason a school did not receive the centrally printed
answer sheets, they can reprint the answer sheets using the RLBB screen. Please refer to the NYSITELL
Scanning Handbook for more information. Please note that Central is working on system updates that will
ensure that schools will be able to print NYSITELL answer documents for fully remote students with a
NYSED NYSITELL waiver who opt into a blended learning model.
Schools should reach out to Office of Assessment for NYSITELL support by emailing
[email protected] in cases where:
 an answer sheet for a student enrolled between March 2 and June 26 was previously printed by
school or
 a student who was first admitted to the NYCDOE between March 2 and June 26 then was
subsequently discharged but then re-enrolled after Central printing of the answer sheets
Please note that Central is working on system updates that will ensure that schools will be able to print
NYSITELL answer documents for fully remote students with a NYSED NYSITELL waiver who opt into a
blended learning model.
Spanish LAB
Schools do not have the ability to print Spanish LAB answer documents for newly admitted students who
entered the DOE between March 2, 2020 and June 26, 2020 with a home language of Spanish. On October
22-23, Central will send the answer documents to the ATS printer of each respective school for these
students. If for any reason a school does not receive the printed answer sheets, they can reprint the
answer sheets using the RSLB screen. Please refer to the Spanish LAB Scanning Handbook for more
information.
Schools should reach out to Office of Assessment for Spanish LAB support by emailing
[email protected] in cases where:
 an answer sheet for a student enrolled between March 2 and June 26 was previously printed by
school or
 a student who was first admitted to the NYCDOE between March 2 and June 26 then was
subsequently discharged but then re-enrolled after Central printing of the answer sheets

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 8

 Division of Multilingual Learners
Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

Central is working on system updates that will ensure that schools will be able to print Spanish LAB answer
documents for fully remote students with a NYSED NYSITELL waiver who opt into a blended learning
model.

NYSED NYSITELL WAIVER (Updated as of 10/21/2020)

As of October 5, 2020, the NYSED NYSITELL waiver is available on NYSED's Parent Notification Resources
site under “Parent Waiver for Remote Learning Students”. The waiver is currently available in 10 languages
other than English. Additional translations will be posted on this site.
Because the NYSITELL must be administered in person, parents/guardians of fully remote students who
have been provisionally identified as ELLs have a couple of options:
 Parents may complete the NYSED NYSITELL waiver. Such students will remain provisionally
identified pursuant to the completion of page 2 of the Home Language Identification Survey and
remote individual interview, both of which may be conducted remotely (e.g. video conference)
until they cease to receive fully remote instruction because of a switch to an in-person or blended
setting.
 Parents can also choose to have their child take the NYSITELL in person. Parents should contact
the school to arrange scheduling for the exam and to continue with the formal ELL identification
process. In these cases, schools should follow safety procedures as outlined in the Playbook for
Principals.
Students who are provisionally identified will be served as follows as per NYC DOE policy:
As a temporary departure from NYC DOE practice, students who are provisionally identified as English
language learners (ELLs) on the basis of the provisional HLIS and individual interview, both of which may
have been conducted remotely, may receive English as a New Language services and/or bilingual
education in accordance with a recommendation resulting from the outcome of these two
processes. Schools may select to remotely administer an available assessment (e.g. ELL periodic
assessment or school-designed assessment) to provisional ELLs in order to assess English language
proficiency in all four modalities (reading, writing, speaking and listening); whenever possible, student’s
proficiency in home language should also be assessed. Schools can use the results of these assessments
to inform provisional placement in a bilingual and/ or ENL setting. If schools do not otherwise assess a
student’s English Language Proficiency, then they must serve students at the Entering level. In either case,
schools must maintain records; and inform parents of the services their child will receive and must do so
in the parent’s preferred language. Due to this COVID-19 related temporary departure, NYC DOE systems
and reports (e.g. ATS, EDUR) will continue to default provisionally identified students to an Entering level.
Students who are provisionally identified:
 Should not have a parent choice entered into ATS in the ELPC screen. Parent choice should be
documented in ATS after the formal ELL identification process has been completed.

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 9

 Division of Multilingual Learners
Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

 Cannot receive a transfer to a bilingual program in another school. If the parent would like a
transfer to a bilingual program, the student must be formally identified.

RESOURCES: Please refer to the Playbook for Principals for safety protocols. NYSED NYSITELL waivers are
available on NYSED's Parent Notification Resources site.

Eligibility for NYSED NYSITELL Waiver (New as of 10/21/2020)

Students eligible for the NYSED NYSITELL waiver must have been provisionally identified as a potential ELL
either 1) during the transition to remote learning due COVID-19 in SY 2019-20; 2) during summer 2020; or
3) in the 2020-21 school year AND opted for fully remote instruction. Please note that a NYSED NYSITELL
waiver can be completed for incoming students with an IEP whose LPT has determined NYSITELL eligibility
and have opted for fully remote instruction.
If parents/guardians opt out of fully remote instruction, the school will have to administer the NYSITELL,
and if eligible, place the student into an ELL program within ten (10) school days of the child returning to
blended learning.

Parent Notifications Regarding NYSED NYSITELL Waiver (New as of 10/21/2020)

Notifications informing parents/guardians about the availability of the NYSED NYSITELL waiver must be
sent in the parent’s preferred language and mode of communication. Schools must maintain a record of
these notifications. As a best practice, we recommend that schools reach out to parents to make sure they
understand what the NYSED NYSITELL waiver is, and the implications of submitting the NYSED NYSITELL
waiver. To support schools with this process, a cover letter explaining the NYSED NYSITELL waiver is
available on the Parent Notification InfoHub. Translations into the 9 DOE supported languages are also
available.
Please note, the NYSED NYSITELL waiver must be downloaded from NYSED's Parent Notification Resources
site in order to be completed and electronically signed. The NYSED NYSITELL waiver must be submitted
directly from the parent/guardian(s) to the school. The waiver can be submitted via email, mail or in
person. All records relating to the NYSED NYSITELL waiver must be retained by the school, as described in
the section below.

RESOURCES: NYSED NYSITELL waivers are available on NYSED's Parent Notification Resources site. Cover
letters for parent/guardians explaining the NYSITELL waivers are available on the Parent Notification
InfoHub.

Retaining Records (New as of 10/21/2020)

Schools are reminded to make and document in their records all possible efforts to administer the
NYSITELL to all eligible enrollees, including but not limited to those in a fully remote education setting.

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 10

 Division of Multilingual Learners
Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

Schools must also retain records of the NYSED NYSITELL waiver for 3 years. Records should be kept both
in the student’s cumulative folder and in school records (i.e. ELL critical documents). Additional guidance
will be released via Principals’ Digest on how schools will report the collection of these waivers in NYC
DOE systems. In the meantime, we recommend that schools keep track of the students with NYSED
NYSITELL waivers.

RESOURCES: The NYSED NYSITELL waiver is currently available on NYSED's Parent Notification Resources
site in 10 languages other than English; additional translations will continue to be posted by NYSED.

PARENT ORIENTATION (New as of 10/21/2020)

After a student has been determined to be an ELL through the NYSITELL, schools must notify parents of
their child’s eligibility for ELL services and provide information and program selection through a parent
orientation. The parent orientation should be held with the parent/guardian to explain the different ELL
program options that may be provided to their child. While we still hope schools will strive to do an in-
person orientation as a best practice, we understand that this may cause hardship due to social distancing
and health and safety concerns at the current time. Schools therefore may proceed with virtual
orientation when needed due to health and safety concerns.
Schools must provide parents of newly enrolled ELLs with a parent orientation that meets the following
criteria:
 Schools show the Parent Orientation video. (This video explains the three program options and is
available in other languages).
 Schools provide information on standards, curriculum, and assessments. The parent orientation
session must also provide a high quality orientation section on the Next Generation Learning
Standards, assessments, and school expectations for English Language Learners, as well as the
program goals and requirements for bilingual education and English as a New Language (formerly
English as a second language but now referred to as ENL) programs.
 The orientation must be in a language or mode of communication that the parent or guardian best
understands. Schools should use oral over the phone interpretation services if they require an
interpreter for any language that is not spoken by the school staff. To access the service, schools
may dial 1-800-889-5921 and provide:
o Your District Borough Number (ex. 27Q336, 05M036)
o Language needed (or country if you are not sure of their language)
o Whether or not the call will be for an IEP meeting
o If you will need the interpreter to call the parent on your behalf
 Attendance records, staff members present at the orientation, and languages used other than
English must be recorded using existing procedures established in the school.

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 11

 Division of Multilingual Learners
Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

After parents are informed of all three program models at the parent orientation, schools must provide
parents with a Parent Survey & Program Agreement Form (in the parents’ preferred language), where
parents can indicate their program choice. The parent must return the completed and signed form within
five school days. This form can be completed by email, mail, or in person.
Note: Only students who are formally identified as English Language Learners (who have scored below
Commanding on the NYSITELL) are eligible for an ELL transfer if their parents have selected a bilingual
program that is currently not available at the school and the school does not have the sufficient number
of students required to open a bilingual program.

RESOURCES: Please refer to the Parent Orientation video, Parent Survey and Program Agreement, and
ELL Transfer and Authorization Forms. Please visit the Translations and Interpretation InfoHub for more
information on translation and interpretation services.

PLACEMENT INTO AN ELL PROGRAM (New as of 10/21/2020)

After the parent orientation, schools should send the parent the Placement Letter (After Receiving Parent
Survey) in their preferred language to confirm their child’s placement into an ELL program. If the parent
does not return the Parent Survey & Program Agreement Form within five school days, the student
remains in a bilingual program if one exists at the school; otherwise, the student remains in an ENL
program. In this case, the school should notify the parent by sending the Default Program Placement
Letter in the parent’s preferred language.
Schools must document and include attempts to gather initial parent selection preference;
documentation should be maintained using existing procedures established by the school.
Parent letters can be emailed, mailed, or provided to parents in person, and records must be kept in the
cumulative folders and in school records.

Note: Default program placement and placement letters (after parent survey) are available on the Parent
Notification InfoHub.

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 12

 Division of Multilingual Learners
Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

SUMMARY OF THE ELL IDENTIFICATION PROCESS (New as of 10/21/2020)

Below is a summary of components of the ELL identification process and whether they can be completed
remotely or in person.

Provisional Identification Process

Step in ELL Identification Process Is this part of Can this be Can this be
Provisional completed completed in
Identification remotely? person?
process?

Determine if enrolling student was in Yes Yes Yes

a NYS public school within past 2 years

Parent completes HLIS with qualified Yes. Only page 2 of Yes N/A
personnel. HLIS can be
completed
provisionally. Enter
provisional home
language in ATS.

Individual interview with students in Yes Yes, make sure Yes

English and in the student’s home this is
language by qualified personnel. documented.

Language Proficiency Team (LPT) Yes Yes Yes

process for incoming students with an
IEP to determine NYSITELL eligibility.

Parent Completes NYSITELL waiver. Yes Yes Yes

Administer NYSITELL to eligible N/A N/A N/A

students.

Send parent notifications to family N/A N/A N/A

regarding entitlement and non-
entitlement.

Administer Spanish LAB to ELLs with a N/A N/A N/A

home language of Spanish.

Determine if ELL is a student with Yes Yes Yes

interrupted/inconsistent education
(SIFE).

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 13

 Division of Multilingual Learners
Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

Step in ELL Identification Process Is this part of Can this be Can this be
Provisional completed completed in
Identification remotely? person?
process?

Provide families a parent orientation Yes, you may collect Yes, but this Yes
meeting. parent choice but do must be
not update ATS. revisited as part
of formal ELL
identification
process.

Student is placed and programmed Yes Yes N/A

into an ELL program.

Administer the Re-Identification N/A N/A N/A

Process as necessary

Within 6 to 12 months, review N/A N/A N/A

progress of student whose ELL status
was reversed.

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 14

 Division of Multilingual Learners
Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

Formal Identification Process

Step in ELL Identification Process Is this part of formal Can this be Can this be
Identification completed completed in
process? remotely? person?

Determine if enrolling student was Yes Yes Yes

in a NYS public school within past 2
years

Parent completes HLIS with Yes. Update home No Yes

qualified personnel. language in ATS and
update HLIS flag on
ATS BIOU screen to
“Y”.

Individual interview with students Yes Yes, make sure Yes

in English and in the student’s home this is
language by qualified personnel. documented.

Language Proficiency Team (LPT) Yes Yes Yes

process for incoming students with
an IEP.

Parent Completes NYSITELL waiver. N/A N/A N/A

Administer NYSITELL to eligible Yes, If parent No Yes

students. completes a
NYSITELL waiver,
formal identification
process ends here
and student remains
provisionally
identified.

Send parent notifications to family Yes Yes Yes

regarding entitlement and non-
entitlement.

Administer Spanish LAB to ELLs with Yes No Yes

a home language of Spanish.

Determine if ELL is a student with Yes Yes Yes

interrupted/inconsistent education
(SIFE).

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 15

 Division of Multilingual Learners
Mirza Sánchez-Medina
Deputy Chief Academic Officer

Step in ELL Identification Process Is this part of formal Can this be Can this be
Identification completed completed in
process? remotely? person?

Provide families a parent Yes Yes. Schools may Yes. A parent

orientation meeting. proceed with a orientation must
virtual parent be completed as
orientation when part of formal
need due to identification
health and safety process. Update
concerns. ATS with parent
choice.

Student is placed and programmed Yes Yes Yes

into an ELL program.

Administer the Re-Identification Yes Yes Yes

Process as necessary

Within 6 to 12 months, review Yes Yes Yes

progress of student whose ELL
status was reversed.

ELL Identification Guidance October 2020 16