The Every Student Succeeds Act is a new set of federal mandates that bring a decrease in government intervention in the testing requirements for students in grades K-12. But one area where the recent legislation provides an increased role is through the progress of English Learners in the public school system. The ESSA comes with provisions that broaden the expectations at the state level for students who are learning English as their second language.

The law now requires state boards of education to closely monitor the progress of ELLs and to intervene when they are failing to meet standards for proficiency in learning and conversing in English. More specifically, the ESSA requires every state to establish standards for criteria in defining those students who are English learners as well as setting the bar for designating them as having met the standards. After that occurs, the ESSA mandates that these students are then monitored for four years to track their achievement in school.

Among the 50 states that are most prepared to comply with the new provisions of the ESSA is California, which is much closer to reaching the prescribed measure for accountability than any other state in the country, so far. In fact, the current California standards for both language development and curriculum have been in place since 2012 while the framework established for teaching ELL’s was enacted in 2014, making the state the most prepared for meeting the goals that have been set forth under the new legislation.

But there’s even better news for the over one million students who are English learners in the state of California. Last November, Proposition 58 put an end to the previous provisions under Proposition 227 which established that English learners should be taught in English only. Under the new law, introduces bilingual programs that educators and experts alike feel would be more beneficial to positive educational outcomes for students who are learning English as a second language.

Unlike previous years, there is growing enthusiasm and support for introducing these new programs and with the old laws being phased out, there is no longer any need for parental waivers while parents are also given more input into the ways these bilingual programs are established and implemented in California schools. The fate of English learners in the state has gotten much brighter and more helpful since there is little resistance to reviving bilingual education in California.