Reclassification of English Learners

What is reclassification? Link to this section

Reclassification is the process of changing a student’s status from English Learner (EL) to Reclassified Fluent English Proficient (RFEP) after they meet state and district criteria for English language proficiency and academic skills.

The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) follows reclassification guidelines established by the California Department of Education (CDE)(link is external).

To be reclassified in SFUSD, students must meet all four of the following criteria:

4 criteria required for reclassification
  1. Assessment of English Language Proficiency
    Level 4 overall score on the Summative ELPAC (or 3 on the Alternate ELPAC for students with significant cognitive disabilities).
  2. Basic Skills Relative to English Proficient Students
    Meet the required cut score(link is external) on one of the following: Smarter Balanced ELA (SBA) OR California Alternate Assessment (CAA) OR Star Reading
  3. Teacher Evaluation
    Teacher confirms the student is performing well in class and ready to reclassify
  4. Parent Opinion and Consultation
     

What are the requirements for each grade level?

When does reclassification happen?

Reclassification can take place at any time during the academic year, upon the student meeting all the criteria.

SFUSD initiates four rounds of reclassification every year. 

At the beginning of each round, parents/guardians are notified of their students’ eligibility through ParentVue. For families without ParentVue, a letter is mailed to the home. During each round, teachers evaluate the eligible students and consult with parents regarding reclassification decisions. Students who meet all four criteria for reclassification will have their statuses changed from EL to RFEP (Reclassified to fluent English proficient).

Grey, checkered monthly calendar icon

Standard Reclassification Windows:

Round 1: November 4th - November 22nd

Round 2: February 4th - March 21st

Round 3 (clean up for 2024-2025): April 1st - May 1st

Round 0 (uses first release of ELPAC scores from Spring 2025): Mid-May - June 4th

How does the process work?

Students become eligible to begin reclassification after meeting Criteria 1 and 2. The process is completed after Criteria 3 (Teacher Evaluation) and 4 (Parent Consultation) are fulfilled.
 

Students meeting criteria 1 and 2 (ELPAC and ELA assessment cut score) enter the reclassification process to be evaluated for criteria 3 and 4 (teacher evaluation and parent consultation). Students are reclassified after all four reclassification are met.

For a detailed description, please refer to the process guide(link is external).

FAQs about reclassification are addressed below. You are welcome to email reclassification@sfusd.edu with any other questions about reclassification. 

What happens after English learner students reclassify?

After students reclassify, they no longer need to participate in designated ELD, annual ELPAC testing, or other English learner services.

The school and Multilingual Pathways Department will monitor RFEP students’ academic progress for four years after reclassification. Interventions and support will be recommended and implemented for RFEP students failing to meet academic achievement goals. 

RFEP Progress Monitoring

Who can I contact?

This page was last updated on May 5, 2025