All states / California
California
California offers Bilingual Education both as a standalone certification and as an add-on endorsement; ELD/ESL is available both as a standalone license and as an add-on endorsement. SEI training is mandated for all teachers. As of 2024, 17.4% of public-school students are classified English Learners (NCES). Re-verified against current SEA sources on 2026-05-10.
Credentials
Bilingual Authorization
- Standalone certification
- Add-on endorsement
- Approved program
- Required
- Coursework
- Required
- Practicum
- Unknown
- Subject test
- Required
- Language proficiency
- Required
Bilingual Authorization (CL-628B) is the current new-issue add-on pathway (AB 1871, 2008); BCLAD/Bilingual Crosscultural Specialist Credential lineage is the standalone form. Pathways: (1) Commission-approved bilingual program; (2) CSET World Languages Tests II/III, IV, V; (3) program + CSET equivalency. Practicum not separately enumerated in leaflet — coded null.
CLAD / EL Authorization
- Standalone certification
- Add-on endorsement
- Approved program
- Required
- Coursework
- Required
- Practicum
- Unknown
- Subject test
- Required
EL Authorization / CLAD Certificate (CL-628C) plus embedded EL preparation in every Multiple/Single Subject preliminary credential issued since 7/1/2002 (AB 1059). Pathways include CTEL Examination, approved CTEL program, program+exam equivalency, legacy ESL/SDAIE, SB 1969/CCSD, NBPTS ENL, out-of-state equivalency. Second-language requirement waived for candidates with a bachelor's degree from a regionally-accredited institution.
Sheltered English Instruction (SEI)
Mandated for all teachers.
California's SEI-equivalent mandate is the AB 1059 embedded EL authorization in every Multiple Subject and Single Subject preliminary credential issued since 7/1/2002 — functionally one-course-plus EL preparation required of every newly-credentialed classroom teacher.
State policy signals
Seal of Biliteracy
Recognition for graduating students proficient in English plus another language.
Adopted in 2011.
ELP assessment
Annual English Language Proficiency test used for EL identification and reclassification.
ELPAC · State-specific assessment.
History of licensure
Dated policy and verification events shaping this state's EL teacher credentials.
-
Lau v. Nichols decided (414 U.S. 563)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that San Francisco USD's failure to provide language-acquisition supports to non-English-proficient Chinese students violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The decision underpins California's modern bilingual and ELD credentialing infrastructure and frames every later state EL-program rule.
oyez.org (opens in a new tab) · supreme.justia.com (opens in a new tab)
-
Chacón-Moscone Bilingual-Bicultural Education Act enacted (AB 1329, Stats. 1976 ch. 978)
California's first comprehensive bilingual-education statute required districts to provide bilingual instruction wherever 10 or more EL students of the same primary language were enrolled in the same grade at a school. The act underwrote two decades of growth in California bilingual programs and bilingual-teacher credentialing infrastructure (the BCLAD pathway descends from it). The legislature allowed Chacón-Moscone to sunset in 1987, but the State Board of Education continued most of its requirements administratively until Proposition 227 (1998) overrode them.
-
Voters approve Proposition 227 — English-only mandate (English in Public Schools Initiative)
Funded by Ron Unz, Prop 227 passed roughly 61%–39% and rewrote California Education Code §§300-340 to require Sheltered English Immersion for nearly all EL students, capping it at "normally not to exceed one year" and narrowing parental waivers. Bilingual programs collapsed statewide and the BCLAD credential pipeline contracted sharply. Prop 227 remained in force until voters approved Proposition 58 in 2016, which restored district choice. The Unz model exported to Arizona (Prop 203, 2000) and Massachusetts (Question 2, 2002).
-
AB 1059 EL preparation embedded in every preliminary credential
Effective 2002-07-01 (AB 1059, 1999), every Multiple Subject and Single Subject preliminary teaching credential issued by California must embed EL preparation, making CA's universal EL-credentialing mandate functionally one-course-plus EL preparation required of every newly-credentialed classroom teacher.
ctc.ca.gov (opens in a new tab) · ctc.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)
-
AB 1871 establishes current Bilingual Authorization (CL-628B)
AB 1871 (2008) restructured California's bilingual credentialing into the current Bilingual Authorization issued under CL-628B. Pathways: a Commission-approved bilingual program, CSET World Languages Tests II/III + IV + V, or program + CSET equivalency. Successor to the BCLAD/Bilingual Crosscultural Specialist Credential lineage.
-
California State Seal of Biliteracy enacted (AB 815)
Governor signed AB 815 establishing the California State Seal of Biliteracy — the nation's first state-level Seal — recognizing high school graduates who attain proficiency in English and one or more world languages.
-
Voters approve Proposition 58 (CA Ed.G.E. Act)
Proposition 58 (the California Education for a Global Economy Initiative) repeals the English-only instruction restrictions of Proposition 227 (1998), restoring local authority to offer bilingual, dual-language, and structured English immersion programs and reinforcing demand for the Bilingual Authorization.
cde.ca.gov (opens in a new tab) · leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)
-
California adopts the English Learner Roadmap
The State Board of Education unanimously adopted the California English Learner Roadmap, a four-principle policy framework directing district programs and educator preparation toward asset-based, integrated, and rigorous approaches for ELs.
-
ELPAC replaces CELDT as California's ELP assessment
California transitioned from the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) to the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) for both initial-identification screening and annual summative assessment of ELs.
-
AB 2735 mandates EL course access (effective 2019-20)
California enacted AB 2735, requiring districts to provide ELs with full access to a broad course of study (including A–G coursework) and prohibiting placement in restrictive programs that delay course-of-study access. Effective with the 2019-20 school year.
-
EPAA 29(100) document analysis (Leider, Colombo & Nerlino, 2021)
Leider, Colombo & Nerlino published in Education Policy Analysis Archives 29(100) a comprehensive document analysis of every state and DC's bilingual, ELD/ESL, and SEI teacher-credentialing requirements, professional teaching standards mentions, and EL-percentage figures, based on primary SEA sources collected October–December 2019. The 2019 coding of California's EL-credentialing landscape is preserved as a temporally-anchored research baseline against which the catalog's later verifications are framed.
-
CTC adopts revised California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP)
CTC adopted the April 2024 revision of the California Standards for the Teaching Profession; standards continue to reference EL/cultural/linguistic diversity explicitly and bind all California teachers.
Sources
- [1] California Department of Education (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2019-11-15 (via Leider et al. 2021)
- [2] Leider, Colombo & Nerlino (2021), EPAA 29(100). Tables 2-5 + Appendix A. (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2019-11-15 (via Leider et al. 2021)
- [3] CTC Bilingual Authorizations leaflet (CL-628B) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
- [4] CTC English Learner Authorization & CLAD Certificate leaflet (CL-628C) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
- [5] CTC Serving English Learners leaflet (CL-622) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
- [6] CTC English Learner and Bilingual Authorizations (employer manual) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
- [7] CTC English Learner Authorization (educator-prep framework) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
- [8] CTC California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP), April 2024 (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
- [9] CDE Facts About English Learners in California (DataQuest) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
- [10] NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 204.20 (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
- [11] CDE English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
- [12] Seal of Biliteracy — California state page (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
- [13] California Department of Education, English Learners in California Schools (2024-25) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-10
Cite this page
Site content is published under CC BY 4.0. When citing a fact from this page, please cite both projectcert and the original Leider et al. (2021) paper the dataset extends.
- APA
-
projectcert. (2026, May 10). California EL teacher certification. https://projectcert.org/states/ca/
Leider, C. M., Colombo, M. W., & Nerlino, E. (2021). Decentralization, teacher quality, and the education of English learners: Do state education agencies effectively prepare teachers of ELs? Education Policy Analysis Archives, 29(100). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.29.5279
- BibTeX
-
@misc{projectcert_ca_2026, author = {{projectcert}}, title = {{California EL teacher certification}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://projectcert.org/states/ca/}, urldate = {2026-05-10}, note = {Last verified 2026-05-10} }@article{leider2021decentralization, author = {Leider, Christine M. and Colombo, Michaela W. and Nerlino, Erika}, title = {{Decentralization, teacher quality, and the education of English learners: Do state education agencies effectively prepare teachers of ELs?}}, journal = {Education Policy Analysis Archives}, volume = {29}, number = {100}, year = {2021}, doi = {10.14507/epaa.29.5279} }
See the methodology for how these data were collected, or the glossary for term definitions.