California schools now have two screening instruments that use playful games and stories to test 4-year-olds’ language skills without making them cry. But teachers and advocates reported some TK students fluent in English were identified as English learners simply because they were too young to be tested. Texas has used preLAS to measure English language proficiency for pre-K and kindergarten students since 2019. The two screeners will be piloted this school year in some California school districts, and then rolled out to all school districts in 2027-28. Nor are they required to report their academic or language progress on the California School Dashboard.