Identification of Multilingual Scholars

All families, regardless of what language they speak, complete a Home Language Survey (HLS) to self-report their child’s primary language during school registration. Office staff at FWPS use the Office of Superintendent of Public Schools (OSPI) Home Language Survey and provide support to ensure scholars are accurately enrolled at each school.

Registration materials and HLS are available in a wide variety of languages. The following questions are used on the HLS to determine the scholar’s primary language:

• What language did your child first learn to speak?
• What language does YOUR CHILD use the most at home?

If the response to either or both questions is a language other than English, scholars will be assessed using the state approved language proficiency screener.

Additionally, if parents/families indicate that the child first learned another language and English simultaneously or currently uses both English and another language, the scholar will be assessed using the state approved language proficiency screener.

If a scholar is eligible to be tested, schools must complete it no later than the 10^th day of attendance.

In accordance with OSPI requirements, FWPS uses the WIDA Screener test to determine eligibility for ML Services.  This 30-40-minute assessment evaluates English proficiency in the domains Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Scholars whose scores fall below the proficiency threshold qualify for ML services. See the table below for the specific score ranges that determine eligibility.

Kindergarteners	Grades 1-12
August-December 31 Score of 1-5 qualifies for ML Services Jan 1-June      Score of 1-4 qualifies for ML Services	All year      Score of 1-4 qualifies for ML Services