Newsom signs law easing rules requiring students to learn English, change will impact 1 million

Nearly 1 million California students designated as English learners will no longer have to pass a set of tests and benchmarks to exit the program, under a new law signed Sunday by Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom.

In a story posted Sunday by The Los Angeles Times, the newspaper states that when a child enrolls in a California public school, families are asked what language is spoken at home and that as early as kindergarten, children who mainly speak a foreign language at home could be designated as an English learner and placed in language classes. 

The story does not clearly state the number or percentage of students in such classes who are from another country. 

The change is considered a major overhaul of a decades-old practice. Critics of the old practice said it has long held back students' education. 

They furthermore said too many students classified as English learners were held back months or even years after mastering the language. Under the new law, students will have to pass only one state-approved English assessment to show they are proficient, the newspaper also reports.