Have you heard the news? The English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) have been refreshed and will be ready to implement beginning in the 2026-2027 school year! This is an exciting time to work with and serve our EB (Emergent Bilingual) students across the region. These updates reflect a continued commitment to ensuring equitable access to rigorous instruction while honoring the linguistic assets EBs bring to the classroom.
Our current ELPS, adopted in November of 2007, have laid the foundation for meeting the linguistic needs of EBs in all four language domains: listening, reading, writing, and speaking. These standards have guided instructional planning, language development supports, and assessment practices for nearly two decades. However, the new ELPS will leverage all contents to enhance language acquisition within all curriculum contexts. This means language development will be more intentionally embedded across subject areas, emphasizing that language learning is the responsibility of all educators.
In addition to the ELPS being revised, the Proficiency Level Descriptors (PLDs) have been expanded to provide greater clarity and detail. The updated PLDs offer more precise descriptions of student language behaviors, allowing educators to better identify where students are and how to support their growth. With feedback from committed educators across Texas, the proficiency levels will change from four levels (Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced, and Advanced High) to five levels (Pre-Production, Beginning, Intermediate, High Intermediate, and Advanced). This additional level allows for a more nuanced understanding of student progress and supports more targeted instructional decision-making.
While this shift may seem overwhelming, our Region 7 Bilingual/ESL Team is here to help! Our team is committed to supporting campuses and districts every step of the way as they prepare for this transition. We have several opportunities for you to receive a full training on implementation of the new ELPS, along with the receipt of the updated Seidlitz Flip Book, 2nd edition. These sessions will focus on practical application, classroom connections, and tools you can use immediately.
With several dates to meet your needs, we’d love to see you this summer and help you prepare! These sessions are designed for administrators, instructional coaches, teachers, and paraprofessionals who support EB students.
Check out the links below, or reach out to one of our team members for more details.
