ELD Placement & Procedures

Identification and Placement

The Harrisburg School District English Language Development Department use the following process and resources to identify and place English Learners (ELs) in the Harrisburg School District’s LIEP.

ELD Administrators, enrollment staff, and bilingual professional staff use the following process 
and resources to identify, screen, and place English Learners in the Harrisburg School District 
Language Instruction Program (LIEP).

Identification process:

1. Within the registration process into the Harrisburg School District, all students, including 
foreign exchange students, will be given a home language survey (HSL) to be completed by a 
parent/guardian at the time of registration.

• Home Language survey is in English and Spanish
• Registrars use Languagers translation application to translate (HLS) in other languages to 
• records responses

2. The Harrisburg School District also completes a review of the files from student’s
previous schools to identify students currently identified as ELs.

Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE)

• Some English learners enter U.S. schools with significant gaps in their prior education. These 
• students, often referred to as SLIFE, may have had limited access to continuous, age-appropriate 
• instruction in literacy, numeracy, or other core subjects. As a result, they often need additional 
• support that goes beyond English language development alone.
• The SLIFE Quick Reference Guide is designed to help educators and administrators better 
• understand the unique needs of SLIFE and to plan programs and supports that promote both language 
• development and academic progress. It highlights key considerations for instruction, credit 
• accrual, and program design so that districts can ensure equitable access to learning and 
• graduation pathways.
• SLIFE Quick Reference Guide (Word) Placement Procedures Step 7: Identifies SLIFE

Foreign Exchange Student
Foreign exchange students come to our country to experience American culture and at the same time 
provide our students with the opportunity to learn from other cultures. The Pennsylvania Department 
of Education supports the educational and cultural values of these programs and encourages Local 
Education Agencies (LEAs) to participate and support these culturally enriching programs.

Districts are required to determine if foreign exchange students are English learners using the 
state EL identification procedure. If foreign exchange students are identified as ELs, then they 
must:
● Be placed with the districts language instruction educational program (LIEP) as appropriate based 
on their language proficiency
● Be reported in PIMS as active ELs
● Participate in the annual state English language proficiency assessment (ACCESS for ELLs®)
● Participate in the PSSA/Keystone Exams

Scores from English assessments other than WIDA assessments may only be used as the basis for 
identification decisions if the score descriptors clearly define performance at or above the WIDA 
performance definition for level 5. If this performance definition by the other assessment is not 
clear, then screening using a WIDA instrument is necessary.

The home language survey for foreign exchange students does not need to be completed by the parent 
in the home country. It can be completed by the student or the host family.

3. If the HLS indicates a language other than English for any one question or if the student has 
limited or interrupted formal education, the school conducts a family interview to determine if the 
student is potentially an English Language Learner, using an interpreter as necessary.

4.  If the HLS indicates a language other than English for all questions or if it is determined 
that the student has limited or interrupted formal education, the school collects the student's 
academic records from previous schools for evidence that the student has sufficient English 
proficiency.

5. If the student’s academic records from previous schools are not available or the records do not 
contain reasonable evidence of English proficiency, the school screens the student for English 
proficiency using the WIDA screener (online or paper).

6. If the student’s scores meet the criteria for identification as an English Language Learner, 
then the school determines if the student has limited or interrupted formal education as well as 
the most appropriate LIEP and instructional placement, based on the student’s English language 
proficiency.

7. A completed copy of the enrollment packet with the Home Language Survey is placed in the 
student’s cumulative/placement file.
●  In alignment with the Pennsylvania Department of Education Guidelines for English Learners, ELL 
placement testing is scheduled and administered by a certified test administrator
○ Within 30 days of the beginning of the school year
○ Within 14 days after enrollment
●  Students are tested for ELL placement using the PDE approved language placement test.
● Parents/Guardians of tested students receive;
○ ESSA/Title III/LIEP Letter indicating testing results, language acquisition level, and placement 
information
○  Parent Waiver/Opt-Out form, if applicable– Parents have the right to refuse placement in the 
LIEP but this decision should be informed and voluntary
● Students are assigned to developmentally age-appropriate grade level or based on credits at the 
high school level.

Screening
1.  If records indicate a student was enrolled in a Language Instruction Educational Program at the 
time of transfer, the student will be placed in a Harrisburg School District Language Instruction 
Program.
2.  Academic records are reviewed.
3.  A student without academic records will be assessed using the WIDA Screener. The WIDA Screener 
is an identification and placement assessment required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. 
It is an initial measure of a student’s English language proficiency for potential placement in an 
English Language development program.
4.  A student may be exempt from screening and/or assessment when circumstances occur such as an 
adoption of a foreign-born child, per the family interview, or an error on the Home Language 
Survey.
 

Note A:

A student who comes from an environment where English is not the dominant language or who 
has been exposed to another language (Home Language Survey indicates other languages), is not 
necessarily an EL and does not necessarily need to be screened for English language proficiency if 
there is compelling evidence suggesting that the student is proficient in English. Parent 
permission to screen for language proficiency is NOT required; however, a parent interview should 
be conducted prior to screening. The information gathered should be filed with the student’s other 
enrollment documentation. The parent interview can serve to determine whether to screen a potential 
ELL student. If the evidence gathered during the parent interview is indeterminate, then an 
academic records review may be used to indicate and preclude screening.

Note B:

If, after the parent review, it is unclear whether a student should be screened for English 
proficiency, a thorough review of all available academic records and document evidence of English 
language proficiency shall be completed. Some examples of this type of evidence are:
● Review of transcripts from previously attended U.S. schools
●  Statewide assessment results from previously attended U.S. Schools
● Notes and/or other less formal indicators regarding language proficiency contained in the 
student’s academic record.

Placement Procedure

1.  Parent permission to identify students as ELs, including screening for English proficiency is 
not required, but a parent should be notified prior to testing (phone call or personal contact).

2.  If a potential multilingual meets the criteria on the table below, they are identified as a 
current EL. If they score at or above the criteria below they are Exempt from being a multilingual 
learner.

NOTE: If a student is unable to complete the full screener (e.g. because of a disability or 
refusal), then the determination of EL status must be made based on the remaining available 
evidence gathered from the HLS, parent interview, and academic records review. If reasonable 
evidence of English proficiency cannot be established based on those sources along with the 
incomplete screener results, if any, then the student should be identified as an EL.

NOTE: If a student is screened and determined to NOT be an EL, but evidence emerges during the 
school year that indicates English language development support needs, then an LEA may re-screen 
the student the following year. All evidence for this action must be documented.

3. Placement into the LIEP may not be made without notifying parents.
●  Following assessment, ELD Dept. will send home the Initial placement parent notification letter 
informing parents of assessment results and/or placement in the district LIEP. This information is 
housed in ELLevation. A hard copy of this letter is sent to schools to file in the child’s 
cumulative folder.
●  Parents also have the right to refuse placement in Harrisburg’s LIEP. This decision must be 
informed and voluntary. Should a parent choose to refuse placement, follow the procedures outlined 
in PDE’s English Language Development Program Parental Waiver Form.

4. Instructional placement of ELs must be age and grade appropriate.
● Students with an IEP must be screened with appropriate accommodations
● Students with an IEP must be placed in coordination with the IEP team
●  Students with credits at the high school level will be placed by credits earned

5. ELs must be given equal access to all educational programs, opportunities and extra- curricular 
activities.

6. Federal Law requires that ELs will be tested annually with the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 ® until 
she/he attains English proficiency. This includes ELs whose parents have completed the Parental 
Waiver Form.

7. Per PDE , current multilinguals must be screened to determine if they have limited or 
interrupted formal education (LIFE). The following criteria is considered:
○  Is enrolling after grade two, AND
○ Has a Literacy score of less than 3.5 on the W-APT, MODEL Screener, or WIDA Screener, AND
○  Has at least two fewer years of age-appropriate schooling than peers or has disenrolled from 
U.S. schools to enroll in schools in other countries (including Puerto Rico) more than two times in 
the past four years, AND
○  Has limited encoding/decoding skills in native language (as indicated by family interview and/or 
native language measures and/or review of academic records and/or local measures)

Does this student have limited or interrupted formal education?
☐ YES   (the student should be coded as 06 in PIMS)

☐ NO

Students with IEPs
The federal government has mandated that all ELLs, including those with significant cognitive 
disabilities, receive language development instruction, unless a parent/guardian has chosen to opt 
out their child, until they have reached proficiency, as defined by the state (that is, to meet the 
reclassification/exit criteria).
Therefore, the students must continue to be identified as an ELL to receive language development 
instruction and to be administered the annual proficiency assessment. Based on these individual 
needs, ELD instruction could range from full inclusion to consultative support. Programs must 
collaborate to ensure that both the language needs and special education requirements are met. This 
approach allows the ELL teacher to consult in a regular, planned way with the special education 
teacher so that the special education teacher can provide appropriate language instruction within 
the special education classroom in addition to pulling the student out for ELL instruction.

ELLs identified as special education students may continue to receive ELL services as
determined by the student’s IEP. The ELL teacher provides ELL instruction, and appropriately 
qualified special education teachers give special education services.

For more detailed guidance related to ELs with disabilities, please refer to the Bureau of Special
Education website at www.pattan.net