In June 2012, as part of the Department's Rethinking Equity and Teaching for English Language Learners (RETELL) initiative, the Board adopted regulations that require core academic teachers1 who provide sheltered English instruction to English learners (ELs), and administrators who supervise or evaluate these teachers, to obtain the Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement. Since 2012, nearly 60,000 educators in the Commonwealth have earned the SEI Endorsement. The purpose of this memo is to outline next steps and data reports that will help to ensure that all teachers and administrators who should have the SEI Endorsement obtain it in a timely manner.
The Department's May 26, 2016 Memorandum explains that school districts with ELs are responsible for monitoring their compliance with the current SEI Endorsement requirements listed in 603 CMR 14.07 and 603 CMR 7.15(9)(b) . To assist with this effort:
On May 31, 2018, the Department released in EDWIN, four SEI Endorsement Reports.2 The reports are available for school districts and charter schools under the "District & School Unsuppressed" tab, and for collaboratives under the "Reports" tab. Reports are made available for districts and collaboratives to monitor whether core academic teachers who have been assigned to ELs and principals who supervise or evaluate such teachers have the SEI Endorsement. Reports will reflect SEI Endorsement status using the latest EPIMS collection. Please see section II of this memo for a description of these data reports.
On June 19, 2018 at 1:00 p.m., the Department will hold a webinar for all superintendents, principals, charter school leaders, and other interested parties to discuss how the SEI Endorsement Reports can be used to help districts monitor for compliance with the regulatory requirements. Please use the following link to register for the webinar: Webinar: SEI Endorsement Report Information.
Since July 1, 2016, school districts (including charter schools) have had a basic responsibility to assign ELs only to those core academic teachers who have the SEI Endorsement. If circumstances arise that make it necessary for a district to assign an EL to an unendorsed core academic teacher, that teacher must earn the SEI Endorsement "within one year from the date of the assignment." 603 CMR 14.07(3). In those cases, the district also needs to take all reasonable steps so that:
The EL assigned to an unendorsed core academic teacher on one occasion is thereafter assigned to core academic teachers with the SEI Endorsement.
The unendorsed core academic teacher who is assigned an EL is informed that, upon assignment, he or she must obtain the SEI Endorsement within one year from the date of the assignment.
With respect to school administrators, "no principal, assistant principal, or supervisor/director shall supervise or evaluate a core academic teacher who provides sheltered English instruction to an EL" unless he or she has the SEI Endorsement, or will earn the SEI Endorsement "within one year of the commencement of such supervision or evaluation."
As mentioned above, to assist districts with ELs in monitoring their compliance with the current SEI Endorsement requirements, the Department released in EDWIN, four SEI Endorsement Reports on May 31, 2018. The reports are made available to school districts and charter schools under the "District & School Unsuppressed" tab, and to collaboratives under the "Reports" tab. The reports are briefly described below3:
Core Academic Teachers of English Learners Summary Report for SEI Endorsement (EL711) — Aggregate data regarding the SEI Endorsement status of core academic teachers within the district as well as those core academic teachers who passed the SEI course or SEI MTEL or are ESL licensed, but have not yet obtained the SEI endorsement who, according to the data provided by the district, were assigned to teach ELs from July 1, 2016 through the latest certified EPIMS data collection period.
Principals of Core Academic Teachers Summary Report for SEI Endorsement (EL712)4 — Aggregate data regarding the SEI Endorsement status of principals within the district as well as those principals who passed the SEI course or SEI MTEL or are ESL licensed who, according to the data provided by the district, supervise and/or evaluate teachers of ELs from July 1, 2016 through the latest certified EPIMS data collection period.
Core Academic Teachers of English Learners Endorsement Status (EL811) — List of core academic teachers within the district who, according to the data provided by the district, were assigned to teach ELs from July 1, 2016 through the latest certified EPIMS data collection period, and their SEI Endorsement status.
Principals of Core Academic Teachers Endorsement Status (EL812) — List of principals within the district who, according to the data provided by the district supervise and/or evaluate teachers of ELs from July 1, 2016 through the latest certified EPIMS data collection period, and their SEI Endorsement status.
These reports are based upon information that districts submitted to the Department regarding the assignment of ELs as of October 2016, and SEI Endorsement status information reflected in the Educator Licensure and Renewal (ELAR) system as of the latest EPIMS collection date. Districts should not rely solely on these preliminary reports to monitor their compliance with the current SEI Endorsement requirements. For example, the district may want to confirm the current SEI Endorsement status of educators by checking ELAR, and its own records regarding the assignment of ELs. Similarly, since reports EL712 and EL812 contain information only about principals, the district should check its own records to ensure that any other administrators who should have the SEI Endorsement obtain it in a timely manner.
We appreciate your efforts to ensure that data submitted to the Department regarding the assignment of ELs is accurate.
Educators may earn the SEI Endorsement through a number of different pathways:
Taking a course through an approved provider and applying for the SEI Endorsement : A list of currently approved providers can be found on the RETELL For-Cost Courses page. Districts may apply to the Department to become approved providers of SEI Endorsement courses. In order to be approved, the district must meet all of the requirements listed in this RFR.
Passing the SEI MTEL (MA Tests for Educator Licensure) and applying for the SEI Endorsement: Educators who take and pass the SEI MTEL are eligible for the SEI Endorsement, provided that they apply to receive the endorsement. Information about the SEI MTEL can be found on our website.
Earning the ESL License and applying for the SEI Endorsement : Educators who hold an ESL license are automatically eligible for the SEI Endorsement, provided that they apply to receive it. Information about licensing can be found on the Executive Office of Education website.
Requesting a transcript review: Educators who have previously completed graduate-level coursework that they believe may qualify them for the SEI Endorsement may request a transcript review from the Licensure Office. To request a transcript review, an educator must apply for the SEI Endorsement and select path 2, which is a transcript review based on a related degree or graduate level training. Instructions for applying for the SEI Endorsement can be found on our website .
In addition to monitoring by districts, the Department will monitor for compliance with the current SEI Endorsement requirements during its Tiered Focus Monitoring. The Department expects that districts will take all reasonable steps to comply with the requirements. Reasonable steps may include, for example:
Offering an SEI Endorsement course to increase the number of core academic teachers, principals, assistant principals, supervisors, and directors who have earned the endorsement. Districts may apply to become approved providers of SEI Endorsement courses by following the steps listed on our website.
Planning teacher schedules so that ELs are assigned to core academic teachers who hold the SEI Endorsement.
Providing incentives for core academic teachers to earn the SEI Endorsement before ELs transition into their classrooms.
Ensuring that newly hired teachers for classes in which ELs will be enrolled hold the SEI Endorsement at the time of hire.
If you have questions about the policy information in this memo, please contact ELL@doe.mass.edu . If you have questions about your district's data once you receive it, please contact data@doe.mass.edu . Thank you for your work to strengthen teaching and learning for ELs and all students.
1 Core academic teachers include "early childhood and elementary teachers, teachers of students with moderate disabilities, teachers of students with severe disabilities, and teachers of the following academic subjects: English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, civics and government, economics, history, and geography." 603 CMR 14.07(5).
2 Those districts that did not have any ELs in the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year will not receive any SEI Endorsement Reports.
3 Some districts will not receive reports because they do not appear to have any core academic teachers or principals that fall within the categories described in those reports.
4 These reports are cumulative from the 2016-17 school year through the latest EPIMS collection. They only reflect teachers and principals who are working in the district as of the latest EPIMS data in Edwin.
Last Updated: June 11, 2018
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