Reclassification Variation: How Policy Implementation Guides the Process of Exiting Students From English Learner Status

As state and federal policymakers continue to adopt more centralized policies, it is increasingly important to understand how policies, particularly those designed to enhance education for underserved students, are implemented locally. We employ a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design to investigate the implementation of one policy, that which guides the process of reclassifying English learners (ELs) as English proficient in Texas. First, we use event history analysis to determine whether the likelihood of being reclassified differs across the state for similar ELs. Second, we utilize interview and observation data from eight schools to unpack how practitioners implement reclassification policy. We find differences in the hazard rate of reclassification across the state, which is linked to practitioners' understanding of the policy.