Identifying English Learners
The steps below outline Ohio’s standardized procedures to identify multilingual students who are English learners. Ohio law requires public schools and districts to identify, instruct, assess, and reclassify English learners. School administrators can develop written English learner identification procedures that include staff responsibilities, interpretation resources, and professional development to support students and their multilingual families.
Step 1: Language Usage Survey
To identify student and family language support needs, schools and districts must have every new student complete the Ohio Language Usage Survey. Schools must identify students who are English learners within 30 days of the student's enrollment. Ohio defines enrollment as the date on which the school has both received documentation of enrollment and the student has commenced participation in learning opportunities.
To assist in communicating the purpose of completing the Language Usage Survey to parents, staff may use the following two-minute video explanations available in 14 languages. These explanations are available on Parents2Partners to supplement interpreters who provide families accessible communication with school staff.
Explanations of the LANGUAGE USAGE SURVEY In languages other than English
Language Usage Survey Translations
Step 2: Ohio English Language Proficiency Screener (OELPS)
Students whose home or primary language is not English are administered the Ohio English Language Proficiency Screener (OELPS) to determine whether the require additional support in acquiring academic English for success in school. Based on the results of the Language Usage Survey and the OELPS, a student may be identified as meeting the state's definition of an English learner student.
Step 3: Parent and Family Notification of English Learner Identification
Districts and schools that receive Title I funds must notify the parents and guardians of each student identified as an English learner both upon their initial identification and annually.
Per ESEA requirements, each school that uses funds under either Every Student Succeeds Act Title I or Title III to supplement its language instruction educational program (LIEP) must provide parents and guardians of English learners (ELs) with notification that outlines their child’s identification as an EL and placement in the language instruction educational program. The ESEA requires that this notification be provided no later than 30 calendar days after their enrollment or within the first two weeks of placement in an LIEP for a student who enrolls after the start of the school year.
To support schools and districts in providing meaningful communications to parents and families, templates for the initial identification notification, the continuing identification notification, and the notification to decline English learner programming are available in multiple languages below. For languages not represented, access the web version of the parent or guardian notification letter available for translation using online or third-party services.
The Advancing Ohio’s English Learners (AOEL) Family Roadmap also provides resources for families on understanding English Language Supports at School, and is available in multiple languages.
Parent Notification Templates
Initial Identification Templates
Continuing Identification Templates
Notification to Decline EL Program Templates
School and District Considerations
The U.S. Department of Education has identified compliance issues related to the identification of EL students in instances where school districts:
- have no process in place to initially identify the primary or home language of all enrolled students;
- poorly administer the Language Usage Survey so that significant numbers of potential EL students are not identified;
- do not test the English language proficiency of all students with home languages other than English, resulting in the under-identification of EL students;
- delay the assessment of incoming students in a manner that results in a denial of language assistance services; or
- do not assess the proficiency of students with home languages other than English in all four language domains.
Last Modified: 6/2/2025 8:22:06 AM