“As a state, we acknowledge that passing the LEAP is a barrier inherent to being an English language learner. We also see that Louisiana gives older arrivals seven years to become proficient," Emma Merrill, who leads the EXCELL collation, told BESE. But, she continued, students who haven't had the time to master the language are still required to pass the LEAP to graduate. Even with the assistance of a word-to-word dictionary and extra time, it's not enough for many. “That conflict in expectation is why we have these results today.”

Research shows it can take a person as long as seven years to become proficient in a new language.

Layne Edelman, principal of Acadiana High School in Lafayette, told BESE that of her school’s 167 EL students, 115 will finish high school before they’ve been in the U.S. for seven years. Five of the EL seniors have taken and failed the LEAP multiple times, some by a small percentage.

“These students are highly successful in our classrooms, but they're held from graduating because they're not able to master the English language on a standardized test years faster than research has proven is even possible,” she said.

Erin Atkins, an Acadiana High assistant principal, described students who fled violence and horrific conditions in other countries, often trekking for weeks or more than a year on foot, car and bus to the U.S.

“We’re not here asking for these students to be given free passes,” she said. “We’re asking for an opportunity for our students who have been in the country for less than seven years to … demonstrate their content knowledge and mastery of standards in another way.” 

While the share of EL students in Louisiana has risen dramatically in the past decade, their graduation rate has dropped. 

But then came the pandemic. When LEAP testing requirements were waived for seniors graduating in 2020 and 2021, the overall graduation rate inched up, from 80.1% to 83.5%, but the graduation rate for EL students surged, from 41% in 2019 to almost 53%.