ADMINISTRATIVE LETTER: Legal Requirements to Provide English Language Acquisition Services to Students Who Are Multilingual Learners (Revised October 9, 2025)

Administrative Letter: #2
Policy Code: IHBEA
TO: Public School Administrators
DATE: August 22, 2019, Revised September 15, 2021, Revised June 21, 2023, Revised October 9, 2025

SUBJECT: The legal requirements for providing English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) services to students who are multilingual learners

Please note that "multilingual learners" is used with reference to students who were previously known as "English learners (ELs)." Federal language still uses "English learners (ELs)" to refer to "multilingual learners."

Topics included in this letter:

• Identification of Students Who Are Multilingual Learners
• Exit Criteria from ESOL Services
• Monitoring and Reentry into Multilingual Learner Status
• Delivery of ESOL services
• Administration of WIDA ACCESS and WIDA Alternate ACCESS (if applicable)
• Enrollment of Immigrants and International Students
• Rights of Students Who Are Multilingual Learners to Education
• Students Who Are Multilingual Learners and Special Education

Identification of Students Who Are Multilingual Learners
It is a federal requirement that all students who are multilingual learners be identified within 30 days of enrollment from the beginning of the school year. For students enrolling at the start of the school year, parents/guardians must be notified of their child's English learner status within the same 30-day period. After the start of the school year, school administrative units (SAUs) must notify parents/guardians within two weeks of their child's identification.

Each SAU must provide the Maine Department of Education's (DOE) Language Use Survey to the parent/guardian of every student, pre-kindergarten through grade 12, enrolling in the SAU for the first time. The Language Use Survey must be included in the SAU's enrollment packet or online enrollment system. If a student changes schools within an SAU, a new Language Use Survey is not required.

The Language Use Survey is available for download in English and 29 of Maine's most commonly spoken languages. Parents/guardians are entitled to complete the Language Use Survey in their preferred language. SAUs must provide translation/interpretation services upon request.

The purpose of the Language Use Survey is to identify students who might be multilingual learners. The Language Use Survey decision tree provides guidance on its use. If any question is answered with a language other than English, the student should be administered an English language proficiency screener. (Please note that Sign Language is not a qualifying language for multilingual learner status; however, if a student uses Sign Language and an additional language other than English, the student may be eligible for multilingual learner status.) See Multilingual Learner Identification for information about the required screeners and identification thresholds, by grade level.

Students who were screened for multilingual learner status but who did not initially qualify may be re-screened at any time if a potential need for ESOL support becomes apparent.

Exit Criteria from ESOL Services
A multilingual learner who demonstrates proficiency on the state's annual English language proficiency assessment is eligible for exit from ESOL services. In Maine, the annual English language proficiency assessment is the WIDA ACCESS or, for multilingual learners with the most significant cognitive disabilities eligible for alternate assessments, the WIDA Alternate ACCESS. Information about both of these assessments can be found on Maine DOE's English language proficiency assessment page, located here: English Language Proficiency Assessments | Maine Department of Education.

In Maine, an overall Composite Proficiency Level (CPL) of 4.5 on WIDA ACCESS qualifies multilingual learners for exit from ESOL services. Multilingual learners with the most significant cognitive disabilities, eligible for participation in alternate assessments, can be exited from ESOL services with an overall CPL of 4.0 on the WIDA Alternate ACCESS.

In rare instances, multilingual learners qualify for a domain exemption on the WIDA ACCESS or WIDA Alternate ACCESS based on a disability as documented in the student's Individualized Education Plan (IEP). In these instances, the SAU must submit a Less Than Four Domains request to the Maine DOE. The Maine DOE will ensure the correct Do Not Score code is entered for the student domain(s) in WIDA Assessment Management System. The student's state ID will also be submitted to WIDA/Data Recognition Corporation for calculation of an overall CPL and the development of an Individual Student Report. The Less Than Four Domains request can be located on the English language proficiency assessment webpage: English Language Proficiency Assessments | Maine Department of Education > Special Forms Request.

Monitoring and Reentry into Multilingual Learner Status
Per federal guidance, SAUs must monitor the performance of former students who are multilingual learners for at least two years after exiting. If, during the two years of monitoring, or at any time thereafter, a former student who is a multilingual learner shows a potential need for continued ESOL support, that student must be rescreened with the WIDA Screener Online to determine multilingual learner status. If a student scores below the state-defined identification threshold, the student must be reentered into multilingual learner status, must receive ESOL services, and must take WIDA ACCESS or WIDA Alternate ACCESS, if applicable, until exiting.

Delivery of ESOL Services
An SAU is required to determine the components of an effective English language acquisition program tailored to the needs of each student, which may include, but is not limited to, tutoring, additional classroom support, materials, sheltered instruction, professional development for content area teachers, or other strategies per the Office for Civil Rights December 1985 Title VI policy memorandum, Title VI Language Minority Compliance Procedures.

The Maine DOE requires the English Language Acquisition Service Provision for a student who is a multilingual learner to be provided or overseen by a 660 ESOL-endorsed teacher. (See 34 Code of Federal Regulations C.F.R. Section 100.3 (b)(ii)). All students who are multilingual learners must be provided with English language support services that enable them to meaningfully access the curriculum to meet grade-level standards. English language development and content area knowledge are to be acquired simultaneously rather than consecutively. In other words, English language proficiency is not a prerequisite to participate in grade-level, content classes. If students who are multilingual learners receive services that remove them from content area classes (such as a newcomer program or pull-out services), any academic deficits that result must be remedied so that the student remains on track with their non-multilingual learner peers academically.

English language support services are to be provided in a way that minimizes the isolation of students who are multilingual learners from the general student population and encourages students who are multilingual learners to participate in all aspects of the school program, including advanced coursework, career and technical education, gifted and talented programs, and extracurricular activities. Students who are multilingual learners are entitled to ESOL services until exiting by demonstrating English language proficiency on WIDA ACCESS or WIDA Alternate ACCESS, if applicable.

Administration of WIDA ACCESS and WIDA Alternate ACCESS
The annual English language proficiency assessment for all students identified as multilingual learners in kindergarten through grade 12 is required by federal law under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015. Participation in state assessments is also required under state statute; it is part of annual ESEA application assurances for Title funds. Participation is also included in the school approval process for public schools, including charter schools, and private schools with 60% or more publicly funded students.

In Maine, the required English language proficiency assessment is WIDA ACCESS. A small percentage of multilingual learners with the most significant cognitive disabilities, found eligible for participation in alternate assessment through the IEP team process using state guidance resources, participate in WIDA Alternate ACCESS. The Maine DOE defines English language proficiency as a composite proficiency level of 4.5 on WIDA ACCESS and 4.0 on WIDA Alternate ACCESS.

The Maine Multilingual Learner Identification and Placement Guidance Document, updated annually, outlines all training requirements for test administrators of WIDA ACCESS and WIDA Alternate ACCESS. Federal peer review requirements outline specific standards for test administration training across state assessments, and, therefore, these training requirements for test administrators of English language proficiency assessments are mandatory. It is not required that test administrators be an ESOL-endorsed teacher; however, only an ESOL-endorsed teacher is qualified to design, oversee, and implement an English language support program, which includes the interpretation of WIDA ACCESS and WIDA Alternate ACCESS results.

Enrollment of Immigrants and International Students
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin, among other factors, by public schools. SAUs are required to enroll children regardless of citizenship or immigration status per Plyler v. Doe. This applies equally to students who are immigrants and international students attending a Maine public school as an exchange student or tuition-paying student.

All students, including those who are immigrants and international students, must be screened for multilingual learner status. Any student who is identified as a multilingual learner, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, is entitled to ESOL services and must be administered WIDA ACCESS or WIDA Alternate ACCESS, if applicable, annually. International/exchange students are not exempt from Title I required state academic assessments. In Maine, recently arrived multilingual learners who have been enrolled in a U.S. school for fewer than 12 months are exempt from one administration of the state's English language arts assessment only. See the Maine Comprehensive Assessment System website for further questions and information.

SAUs are not permitted to discourage the enrollment of children who are undocumented immigrants by asking about their immigration status, denying enrollment to those with international birth certificates, or denying enrollment to children whose parents decline to provide their social security numbers or race and ethnicity information. Federal regulations allow schools to ask for children's social security numbers to be used as student identifiers; however, they should inform parents of the purpose and that disclosure of such numbers is voluntary. Schools may not deny enrollment if parents refuse to provide a child's social security number. SAUs may require proof that a child lives within SAU boundaries, which may include lease agreements, utility bills, or other documents; however, schools may not ask parents about a child's immigration status to establish residency. SAUs may require proof of a child's age, but they may not bar enrollment because a child has an international birth certificate or no birth certificate.

Rights of Students Who Are Multilingual Learners to Education
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 remains the foundation of the legal rights of a student who is a multilingual learner. Lau v. Nicholsconfirms that all students who are multilingual learners are entitled to meaningful access to the curriculum.

Although the 2015 U.S. Department of Education 'Dear Colleague' guidance on English learners has been rescinded, the civil rights protections underlying that guidance remain fully in effect. Under both federal law (Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974) and the Maine Human Rights Act, SAUs have an obligation to ensure that multilingual learners have meaningful access to the SAU's educational programs and services. Failing to provide appropriate language assistance services or to remove barriers to program participation may constitute discrimination on the basis of national origin and language, which is prohibited under the Maine Human Rights Act. SAUs are accountable for implementing policies, practices, and supports that guarantee equitable access to instruction, comparable participation in academic and extracurricular programs, and timely communication with families in languages they can understand.

If a parent refuses ESOL services, this must be documented, but parental refusal does not release the school or SAU from its responsibility to provide meaningful education to students who are multilingual learners. If a student who is a multilingual learner cannot make academic progress without ESOL services, the student has a right to ESOL services, even if a parent refuses. Parental consent is not required to administer an English language proficiency screener or WIDA ACCESS or WIDA Alternate ACCESS, if applicable. Under state law, SAUs are responsible for administering WIDA ACCESS to all students who are multilingual learners, regardless of parental consent (20-A M.R.S. §6209 (1-A)).

Students Who Are Multilingual Learners and Special Education
Students may qualify for, and have legal entitlement to, both ESOL and special education services. There are specific guidelines for both ESOL and special education that are to determine students' eligibility for each type of service. Depending on a student's disability and IEP, universal testing tools or accommodations may be needed to measure English language proficiency. When evaluating a student who is a multilingual learner for disabilities, screening must be linguistically and culturally appropriate. It is advisable to measure a student's skills in the student's primary language to clarify whether challenges are due to a learning disability or English language development.

Students who are multilingual learners should not be placed in a special education program unless their IEP determines this placement is appropriate to access specially designed instruction. Multilingual learner status is not a disability and is not covered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or Maine Unified Special Education Regulation (MUSER). The Maine DOE ESOL Team and Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education have collaborated to develop a policy and resource guide on Identifying and Serving Students Who Are Multilingual Learners with Disabilities. This resource can be used by school teams when making determinations about a student's status and program of services.

For students who are multilingual learners with IEP teams, the U.S. Department of Education has provided the following guidance:

"When an EL student is determined to be a child with a disability-as defined in IDEA, or an individual with a disability under the broader definition of disability in Section 504-the student's EL and disability-related educational needs must be met. For EL students, in addition to the required IEP team participants under IDEA, it is essential that the IEP team include participants who have knowledge of the student's language needs. It is also important that the IEP team include professionals with training, and preferably expertise, in second language acquisition and how to differentiate between the student's needs stemming from a disability or lack of ELP."

Students who are multilingual learners with learning disabilities are eligible for exit from ESOL services when they demonstrate English language proficiency by achieving an overall composite proficiency level of 4.5 on WIDA ACCESS or an overall composite proficiency level of 4.0 on WIDA Alternate ACCESS, if applicable.

If you have questions or would like further information about serving students who are multilingual learners, contact Jane Armstrong, Maine DOE ESOL State Specialist, at [email protected].

If you have questions regarding WIDA's English language proficiency assessments, contact Mechelle Ganglfinger, Alternate and English Language Proficiency Assessments Coordinator, at [email protected].

If you have questions regarding students who are multilingual learners and eligible for special education, contact Erin Frazier, Director of the Maine DOE Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education, at [email protected].