Under Arizona law, the definition of an English Learner has two parts, and both have to be true at the same time: the student’s native language is something other than English (or they don’t speak English at all), and the student cannot currently do ordinary classroom work in English. The term comes from A.R.S. § 15-751, which uses “English Learner” and “limited English proficient student” to mean the same thing.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 15-751 – Definitions
The Two-Part Test
The first prong is about language background. The second is about current academic functioning in English. Both prongs matter, and the second one is where most of the real work happens.
Consider a child who speaks Spanish at home with their family but reads, writes, and participates in class entirely in English. That child is not an English Learner under Arizona’s definition, because they can already handle ordinary classroom work in English. Home language alone does not create the classification. A student has to meet both conditions.
Who Is Not Classified as an English Learner
Arizona law carves out a specific exception for students who are proficient in one or more Native American languages. Those students are not classified as English Learners under A.R.S. § 15-751, and the same rule appears again in A.R.S. § 15-756(D).2Arizona Legislature. Arizona House Bill 2313 Proficiency in an indigenous language is treated differently from limited English proficiency for purposes of the statute.
Beyond that specific exception, any student whose home language is English, or whose classroom performance in English is already adequate, falls outside the definition.
How Schools Decide Who Qualifies
The identification process is set out in A.R.S. § 15-756 and begins the moment a child enrolls in an Arizona public or charter school. The school first identifies the student’s primary or home language using a method prescribed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. In practice this is a Home Language Survey given to parents or guardians, asking what language is spoken at home and what language the child learned first.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 15-756 – Identification of English Language Learners
If the survey points to a language other than English, the school then assesses the student’s English proficiency using a state-approved assessment. For students enrolled by the first instructional day of the school year, schools generally have 30 days to complete this assessment. Mid-year enrollees follow a separate timeline.
The assessment Arizona uses is the Arizona English Language Learner Assessment, or AZELLA. It covers four language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. All four must be given to every student tested, and a student whose disability prevents testing in a particular domain receives accommodations for the remaining domains rather than being excused altogether.4U.S. Department of Education. Arizona General English Language Proficiency Assessment If the AZELLA Placement Test shows the student is not proficient, the school classifies the child as an English Learner and enrolls them in a language education program.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 15-756 – Identification of English Language Learners
What Classification Means
Classified students are placed into sheltered English immersion. Arizona law requires that children in public schools be taught in English, and English Learners receive this instruction “during a temporary transition period not normally intended to exceed one year.”5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 15-752 – English Language Education Schools can group English Learners of different ages together when their proficiency levels match, and they are encouraged to mix students from different native-language backgrounds when their English fluency is comparable.
The one-year expectation is a guideline rather than a hard cutoff. Some students take longer, and nothing in the statute forces reclassification by a set deadline. A student remains classified until they demonstrate proficiency on the annual AZELLA Reassessment Test.
How a Student Stops Being an English Learner
A student exits the program by scoring at the Proficient level on the AZELLA reassessment, at which point they are reclassified as Fluent English Proficient (FEP). Arizona’s administrative code defines FEP as “a student who has met the requirements for exit from an English language learner program.”6Legal Information Institute. Arizona Administrative Code R7-2-306 – English Language Learner Programs The reclassified student moves into a mainstream classroom and is no longer counted as an English Learner.
Reclassification does not end the school’s responsibility. A monitoring period follows, during which the school evaluates the student’s performance in reading, writing, math, and content areas such as science and social studies. If the student is not making adequate progress, the school must provide compensatory instruction and, with parental consent, can re-enroll the student in an English Learner program.6Legal Information Institute. Arizona Administrative Code R7-2-306 – English Language Learner Programs
Can Parents Opt Their Child Out?
Yes. Parents can withdraw their child from English Learner services at any time, and they can re-enroll the child at any time. Schools, however, are prohibited from recommending that parents opt their child out for any reason.7Arizona Department of Education. Guidance: Parent Request for Student Withdrawal from an English Learner Program
A withdrawal request triggers a consultation meeting where the school explains the available programs, the child’s current proficiency level, and the option to decline services. Parents are entitled to receive this information in a language they can understand. If the parent still wants to proceed, both the parent and the school principal sign a state-approved withdrawal form.
One point often misunderstood: opting out does not remove the English Learner classification. The student keeps the classification but stops receiving program services, and the school still has to monitor academic progress and offer services again if the student struggles.7Arizona Department of Education. Guidance: Parent Request for Student Withdrawal from an English Learner Program
English Learner Status and Disability Status Are Separate
A child can be both an English Learner and a student with a disability, and one classification does not cancel the other. Federal law under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that limited English proficiency not be the deciding factor in determining whether a student qualifies for special education. Schools have to rule out language as the primary cause of academic struggles before concluding a disability exists, and a student who genuinely has a disability cannot be denied services because they are also an English Learner.