The Brief

Transitional kindergarten students in the state who speak another language at home no longer have to take an English proficiency assessment.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation this month that exempts 4-year-olds from the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California, known as ELPAC.

Under state and federal law, school districts must administer the test to students whose primary language is a language other than English within 30 days of enrollment. There are different tests depending on grade level, from kindergarten through 12th grade.

But since TK is technically designated as the “the first year of a two-year kindergarten program” in California, TK students were being tested using an exam designated for kindergartners, which requires students to know how to read and write letters.

What’s the argument for change?

The state is in the midst of expanding transitional kindergarten to all 4-year-olds by the time school starts in 2025. That would mean a lot more 4-year-olds taking an assessment meant for older kids.

“The developmental appropriateness of this test was in question,” said Carolyne Crolotte, director of dual language learner programs at Early Edge California, which co-sponsored the legislation. “Children at that age are not yet reading and writing.”

As a result, Crolotte said, TK students were scoring lower on the assessments and identified as English learners more frequently.

A study from the Public Policy Institute of California found that almost 40% of students in TK were identified as English learners compared to under 30% for kindergartners who didn’t attend TK.

How have parents felt?

Elizabeth Rossi, a TK teacher in Glendale, said she had heard from parents about students being intimidated by the test.

“They felt uneasy, like their child wasn't ready to answer the questions because some of the questions were too hard. And it's also stressful for the child, you know, [their] first public school experience,” she said.

She said TK focuses more on social emotional skills and development, versus kindergarten which is more academic based. She said her goal for her TK classroom by the end of the year was to have children know the sounds of 13 of 26 letters.

“They're reading and writing in kindergarten, whereas in TK, you're writing your name and learning your sounds,” Rossi said. “I always felt in my heart that all students were English language learners in TK, especially because they're still learning the skills, how to speak correctly and properly, comprehension skills, and they're not quite reading yet either.”

What’s next for English assessments?

Martha Hernandez, the executive director of Californians Together, which advocates for English learner students, said while she celebrates exempting young students from EPLAC, the state needs a developmentally appropriate way to identify English-learner students.

A practice EPLAC writing test for kindergartners.

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Courtesy EPLAC

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https://www.elpac.org/resources/practicetests/#practice-training-tests

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“We want them to still receive the supports that they need, even though they will not be identified as an English learner,” said Hernandez, whose group also co-sponsored the measure.

In a press release, Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi of Torrance said the “discussion to properly determine how to assess TK students now moves to the California State Board of Education."

The board released a memo last week about the impact of the legislation, which went into effect immediately. While the state discusses how to move forward with assessments, the memo said school districts can use the home language survey it sends to parents to learn about which students need English learning support.

The board is set to discuss the issue at its meeting on July 10.

For TK teacher Rossi, she said the change may impact her grading, but doesn’t think it’ll change her instruction in the classroom.

“I'm still going to be pulling out my students that need that extra support because I'm trying to fill in the gaps here and there,” she said.

This story was originally published by Boyle Heights Beat on Jan. 27, 2026.

East Los Angeles pastor Carlos Rincon stood outside a Minneapolis church on Friday, in below-zero temperatures, livestreaming what he was witnessing on the ground in the face of violence by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the region.

In a matter of weeks, he said, “an army of people” at Dios Habla Hoy Church in Minneapolis managed to distribute food packages to thousands of families — including green card holders and U.S. citizens — who were too afraid to leave their homes for food and worship.

“The persecution in Minneapolis is terrible, more cruel than what’s happened in Los Angeles,” the pastor said in his video. Federal agents “are going against anyone,” Rincon, who pastors the Assemblies of God church Centro de Vida Victoriosa in East L.A., told Boyle Heights Beat.

Rincon, who has attended vigils and protests against immigration raids in LA, was in Minneapolis for three days. He witnessed clergy getting arrested at the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport in an anti-ICE protest. He marched with tens of thousands of Minnesotans amid the state’s general strike against ICE.

Since Rincon’s visit, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said some federal agents will begin to leave Tuesday amid outrage over the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal immigration agents.

In Minneapolis, Rincon was struck by the number of white Americans showing up in defense of immigrants. He recalled elderly American women “battling the snow” as they kept watch for agents. He also saw as many as 500 or more people sorting food inside the church for distribution.

Rincon spent time with Dios Habla Hoy pastor Sergio Amezcua, who has denounced ICE as “acting like narco cartels back in Mexico.” Amezcua’s church set up a system — involving volunteers of all religious and ethnic backgrounds — to deliver food to thousands of families in the area.

“I got citizens, permanent residents, they avoid coming to church. … We preach to the world religious freedom and Minnesota people cannot go to church,” Amezcua said in a video on the nonprofit news site Mother Jones.

“And if they come to church, there’s ICE agents outside of churches waiting for them,” he said. “It’s really evil what’s going on.”

The Rev. Carlos Rincon spent three days in Minneapolis.

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Courtesy of Rincon

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A board member of the Latino Christian and National Network, Rincon said he went to Minneapolis to gauge the needs of Latino churches in the area. He said Dios Habla Hoy Church had to implement added security measures before letting anyone inside the church.

“I’m impressed by the city, people of Minneapolis, how selflessly they serve,” Rincon said. “They’re willing to risk their own lives.”

Rincon, who is part of the LA-based Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, wants more religious Latino leaders to denounce ICE violence.

His denomination, the fast-growing Assemblies of God, is made up of about 180,000 adherents in its Southern California network, many of whom are immigrants. Rincon said a fellow LA pastor is currently at risk of deportation. It’s a conservative denomination, he said, “that has been captivated by the Republican Party.”

“Although we are targets, the evangelical Pentecostal churches, they’re not speaking on this issue,” said Rincon, who is Mexican American. “I’m trying to change that.”

“I’m taking a risk because I wasn’t born in this country. I’m a naturalized American, but I believe in what I do,” he added.

In LA, Rincon and his largely immigrant church, which he has led for nearly 40 years, have helped provide funds to immigrant families in need during the raids. While not all congregants agree on everything, “they see me as their spiritual leader,” he said.

Rincon returned to LA on Saturday, just in time to attend a downtown interfaith vigil outside of the federal building, where he addressed clergy and others.

“I come in love with the beloved community of Minneapolis,” he said in Spanish. “They are rising up. They are fighting. “Thank you, Lord, for Minneapolis, because they have opened their doors and protected the vulnerable.”

“They are saving lives when others have built walls,” Rincon continued.

We're in for another mild day with partly to mostly cloudy skies. The National Weather Service forecasts that come Thursday, temperatures will rise more and the Santa Ana winds will return.

Coastal communities in the L.A. area will see highs mostly around 70 degrees today. Meanwhile, the Orange County coast will stay cooler with high temperatures around 62 degrees.

More inland, the valleys and the Inland Empire will see highs from 69 to 75 degrees, up to 76 degrees in Coachella Valley. In the Antelope Valley, highs will be mostly in the low 60s.