Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

This paper investigates how and why course placement policies and practices for long-term and late-arriving English learners (LTELs and LAELs) vary across districts, and between schools within districts. We collected in-depth interview data from district central office staff (n=12), as well as interviews with leaders, counselors, and teachers (n=85) from 17 middle and high schools in the San Diego and Los Angeles Unified School Districts to examine course placement policy implementation. Our sample includes staff from schools that represent a range of school characteristics, including those that serve large and small proportions of ELs, those with high and low language diversity, and those demonstrating small and large gains for ELs on standardized language proficiency assessments. Our analytical approach included both deductive and inductive strategies to investigate variation in course placement practices between districts and schools, and to allow for the emergence of additional themes related to our research questions. Analyses of district-level interviews revealed an increasingly centralized approach to EL policy implementation in Los Angeles, in contrast with a strong preference for school-site decision-making in San Diego. These differences in implementation were also evident at the school level in each district; nonetheless, we also identified a range of implementation practices taken up by schools. Several key factors influenced school variation, including resource allocation, staffing, perceptions of LTEL versus LAEL needs, and normative beliefs about EL inclusion. Our findings have several implications for district and school leaders seeking to address the needs of LTELs and LAELs across diverse policy contexts.