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SDLA Compliance Resource

Complete the Home Language Survey at Initial Enrollment

The one-time intake record that begins California’s English-language identification process without treating multilingualism as a problem or automatically identifying a pupil as an English learner.

  • English Learners
  • Enrollment
  • Home Language Survey
Date(s)At initial enrollment in a California public school
Applies toEvery pupil enrolling for the first time in a California public school; subsequent enrolling LEAs must retrieve and use the original language-identification history

In Plain Language: Have the parent or guardian complete and sign the written four-question Home Language Survey (HLS). Review all answers, determine whether Initial ELPAC screening is indicated, record the source document accurately, and preserve it in the pupil record. Before issuing a new survey or creating a new language status, search CALPADS and request prior records.

Why this matters

The HLS is the legal starting point for language identification, not the final classification. A missing, altered, duplicated, or incorrectly interpreted survey can lead to missed services, unnecessary testing, conflicting CALPADS history, and a preventable civil-rights concern.

Primary ownership

Primary owner: enrollment/registration staff. Decision owner: English learner program coordinator. Partners: CALPADS/SIS staff, assessment coordinator, records staff, special education when applicable, parent/guardian, and the prior California public school.

Operational workflow

  1. 1. Ask whether this is the pupil’s first enrollment in any California public school and search CALPADS/SIS and available records.
  2. 2. If it is the first enrollment, provide the written HLS in a language and format the parent or guardian can understand; require all four answers, signature, and date.
  3. 3. Review the first three answers for a language other than English. Treat a non-English response to question four alone under current LEA/state guidance rather than an automatic local shortcut.
  4. 4. Record the primary-language and temporary identification data accurately; notify the assessment/EL team when Initial ELPAC consideration is triggered.
  5. 5. File the signed source survey, document any pre-assessment correction, and verify the handoff to the Initial ELPAC workflow.

Implementation pathway

First CA enrollment?
Retrieve or administer HLS
Review responses
Resolve prior history
Initial ELPAC handoff

Evidence to retain

  • Signed and dated original HLS or verified copy from the prior LEA
  • Language-access or translated-form record, when applicable
  • CALPADS/SIS and prior-record search evidence
  • Documented interpretation and referral decision
  • Any parent-requested correction made before initial assessment
  • Handoff confirmation to EL/assessment staff

Official guidance and help

Source review completed August 30, 2026. Verify current CDE ELPAC, English learner identification, CALPADS, parent-notification, and local procedures before acting.