CCAP periodically surveys California authorizers about what resources and supports they need, and one area they told us in 2019 they could use help was in supporting English Learner students (EL). English learners represent 19 percent of California public school students, or 1.1 million, and nearly 104,000 are enrolled in charter schools, according to the latest information from the California Department of Education. While these students critically need equitable access to education and effective instructions and supports, they also represent a huge educational asset in a nation that lags far behind many of its economic competitors in multilingualism.

In addition to information about the authorizer’s role in supporting these children, California authorizers also indicated they really needed access to information on how schools can serve them effectively.

CCAP has aggregated more than three dozen reports, studies, and manuals that offer information on legal requirements, tested instructional methods, and guidance, for public schools generally and specifically for charter school authorizers and charter schools. These resources are arranged by category on CCAP’s English learner resource page, which is easy to find on CCAP’s home page. Each resource links to CCAP’s Resource Library, which in turn provides a brief description of the resource’s contents.

This is a dynamic list that will continue to be updated and expanded as new resources become available. Authorizers and others are welcome to share resources with CCAP that have been helpful in your work.

This project was funded through a National Dissemination Grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Charter Schools Grant Program designed to strengthen authorizing practices, with additional support from the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation.