Office of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education

The Office of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE) offers a series of professional learning opportunities, including regional professional learning, webinars, regional director networking meetings, and targeted support. The CLDE team collaborates with other Colorado Department of Education offices to deliver these supports in a unified manner to better align with districts’ local implementation of programs that support the academic, linguistic, and social-emotional needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. 

Important Announcements

Alternate ACCESS Webinar and Redesignation Feedback

After years of test development, the redesigned Alternate ACCESS was administered for the 2023–24 testing year. In Colorado, this assessment was administered during the WIDA ACCESS testing window from January 8, 2024 – February 9, 2024. After WIDA conducted their standard setting process over the summer and fall, CDE’s Exceptional Student Services, Assessment Unit, and the Office of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education convened a committee focused on setting redesignation criteria for the Alternate ACCESS in October 2024.  

Standard setting must be conducted after the first operational administration of a revised assessment. Standard setting is a process through which proficiency level scores are determined, and cut scores are set for an assessment. Cut scores delineate the level of student performance needed to meet the expectations of each proficiency level. Cut scores also assist states in determining the appropriate level a student must achieve on Alternate ACCESS to be considered proficient in English and redesignated to Fluent English Proficient (FEP) monitor status.  

Multilingual Learners (MLs) with disabilities are a culturally and linguistically diverse group of students with unique and exceptional challenges and opportunities. The appropriate identification, services, and redesignation decisions for MLs with the most significant cognitive disabilities are essential in ensuring civil rights are adequately met. CDE will be gathering feedback regarding the cut scores recommended for the Alternate ACCESS criteria for redesignation. After feedback is collected, CDE will finalize recommendations and make a finalized proposal to the ESSA Committee of Practitioners. With their approval, the Colorado ESSA State Plan will be revised with the proposed changes, and submitted to the US Department of Education (USED) for approval. The Colorado Standardized Redesignation Guidance will be updated upon final approval from the USED.

• Join webinars to review Colorado Alternate ACCESS and DLM data and to discuss potential cut scores for Colorado Standardized Redesignation on October 22, 1:30pm or October 23, 8:30am
• Feedback survey for cut score recommendations for the Alternate ACCESS criteria open until November 18, 2024. 

Part-Time Homeschool Multilingual Learner Students Guidance and Feedback Survey

• Part-Time Homeschool ML Students Guidance_DRAFT
• Feedback Survey Link 

Designing, Delivering, and Evaluating Instruction and Services for Multilingual Learners Guidebook

The Guidebook provides assistance to Colorado educators, administrators and school board members in their continuing efforts to address the linguistic and educational needs of multilingual learners by sharing information on legislated and judicially mandated policies as well as best practices and program procedures. The Guidebook can be viewed and/or downloaded at your convenience by opening links to each chapter. 

Recently Arrived English Learners Toolkit

The White House announced, “Bright Spots” for welcoming and expanding opportunities for linguistic integration and education at end of June. The announcement identified a list of resources including the introduction of the U.S. Department of Education’s Newcomer Toolkit (updated 2023) designed to help schools support immigrants, refugees, and their families with a successful integration process. This toolkit provides information, resources and examples of effective practices that educators can use to support newcomers in our schools and communities. We are pleased to share this tool with you.

Additional Resources

• The Center on Standards & Assessment Implementation
• Cultural Orientation Resource Center
• Welcoming Immigrant Students in School - Infographic

English Learner Access to High-Quality Education

On January 7, 2015, the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights and the Department of Justice released a Joint guidance to spell out the legal obligations of state and local education agencies to English learners. At the same time, Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) released the first chapter of an English Learners Tool Kit (on identifying all English learners), offering checklists, tools, and resources to help SEAs and LEAs in fulfilling their obligations. 

• Joint Guidance Letter
• English Learner Tool Kit OELA
• English Learner Factsheet for Parents
• Rights of All Children to Enroll in U.S. Schools
• Explaining English Language Support to Families